title: In vivo small animal micro-CT using nanoparticle contrast agents.
abstract: Computed tomography (CT) is one of the most valuable modalities for in vivo imaging because it is fast, high-resolution, cost-effective, and non-invasive. Moreover, CT is heavily used not only in the clinic (for both diagnostics and treatment planning) but also in preclinical research as micro-CT. Although CT is inherently effective for lung and bone imaging, soft tissue imaging requires the use of contrast agents. For small animal micro-CT, nanoparticle contrast agents are used in order to avoid rapid renal clearance. A variety of nanoparticles have been used for micro-CT imaging, but the majority of research has focused on the use of iodine-containing nanoparticles and gold nanoparticles. Both nanoparticle types can act as highly effective blood pool contrast agents or can be targeted using a wide variety of targeting mechanisms. CT imaging can be further enhanced by adding spectral capabilities to separate multiple co-injected nanoparticles in vivo. Spectral CT, using both energy-integrating and energy-resolving detectors, has been used with multiple contrast agents to enable functional and molecular imaging. This review focuses on new developments for in vivo small animal micro-CT using novel nanoparticle probes applied in preclinical research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham NC, USA ; Department of Radiology, Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ashton
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham NC, USA.
authors.forename: Cristian T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Badea
keywords: contrast agents; micro-CT; nanoparticles; small animal imaging; spectral imaging