title: Whole Mouse Cryo-Imaging.
abstract: The Case cryo-imaging system is a section and image system which allows one to acquire micron-scale, information rich, whole mouse color bright field and molecular fluorescence images of an entire mouse. Cryo-imaging is used in a variety of applications, including mouse and embryo anatomical phenotyping, drug delivery, imaging agents, metastastic cancer, stem cells, and very high resolution vascular imaging, among many. Cryo-imaging fills the gap between whole animal in vivo imaging and histology, allowing one to image a mouse along the continuum from the mouse → organ → tissue structure → cell → sub-cellular domains. In this overview, we describe the technology and a variety of exciting applications. Enhancements to the system now enable tiled acquisition of high resolution images to cover an entire mouse. High resolution fluorescence imaging, aided by a novel subtraction processing algorithm to remove sub-surface fluorescence, makes it possible to detect fluorescently-labeled single cells. Multi-modality experiments in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Cryo-imaging of a whole mouse demonstrate superior resolution of cryo-images and efficiency of registration techniques. The 3D results demonstrate the novel true-color volume visualization tools we have developed and the inherent advantage of cryo-imaging in providing unlimited depth of field and spatial resolution. The recent results continue to demonstrate the value cryo-imaging provides in the field of small animal imaging research.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Debashish
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steyer
authors.forename: Madhusudhana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gargesha
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Eliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McKinley