The AIU has the following equipment:

    • High-resolution PET/CT nanoPET (Mediso)
    • Small animal magnetic resonance scanner 7 Tesla (Varian)
    • Two in vivo optical imaging systems: 200 XENOGEN (IVIS, PerkinElemer) and FMT 1500 (Visian Medical)
    • Intravital microscope (Intelligent imaging)
    • Ultrasound systems (2 x VEVO 2100, Visualsonics)
    • Radiopharmaceutical Unit for in situ production of molecular probes with different radioisotopes (18F, 89Zr, 68Ga, etc.).
    • The type of studies that can be done covers a wide range of possibilities:
    • Magnetic resonance: high-resolution 'conventional' anatomical image, spectroscopy, angiography, tissue perfusion, magnetization transfer, cardiac dynamic studies, etc.
    • Computed tomography imaging: bone and biomaterial studies, morphometric, pulmonary, etc.
    • Nuclear imaging: cell metabolism studies by glucose (18F-FDG) or palmitic acid (18F-FTHA), with applications in oncology, neurology, cardiology and inflammatory and infectious diseases. In vivo monitoring of biomolecules (antibodies/peptides), cell tracking, etc.
    • Molecular probes: synthesis of nanoparticles and/or radioactive or fluorescent marking of different biomolecules (antibodies, peptides, microvesticles, etc.).
    • In vivo optical imaging: cell metabolism studies (genetically modified cells), cell monitoring, etc.
    • Echocardiographic studies: in rodents and zebrafish, fetal studies in rodents, vascular ultrasound, etc.
    • Other services provided by the laboratory include advice on optimal techniques for a specific problem and data post-processing (including quantification, co-registration of modalities, parametric statistical analysis -SPM-, etc.).

    Services

    EquipmentServiceUse

    Echocardiographic

    Basic

    • Cardiac functionality (EF, mitral flow, myocardial mass, etc.)
    • Abdominal Aorta
    • Zebra fish

    Complex

    • Echo-guided tap
    • Femoral studies

    Detailed (Also includes a basic study)

    • Right Ventricle
    • Hypertension
    • Valvulopathy
    • Carotid Artery
    • Diastolic function (pulmonary veins and tissuer Doppler)
    • Coronary arteries
    • Fetus
    • Thoracic Aorta (cardiac outflow, aortic arch, root, ring, descending aorta, ascending aorta, root, annulus, etc.)

    MRI

    Structural

    • Neurology
    • Abdominal anatomy
    • Cardiology
    • Oncology
    • Adipose tissue
    • Angiography

    Functional

    • Cardiology
    • Funtional MRI (Aparent Diffusion Coefficient and Diffusion Tensor Imaging)

    Perfusion

    • DSC (It needs gadolinium contrast agent)
    • ASL

    Parametric maps T1/ T2 /T2*

    • Absolute Quantitative Data

    Spectroscopy (13C, 1H, 31P)

    • Chemical composition
    • Adipose tissues percentage vs. water

    PET-CT

    18F-FDG (glucose metabolism)

    • Neurology
    • Cardiology
    • Inflammation Oncology
    • Radiochemistry

    CT

    Structural

    • Bones anatomy
    • Soft tissue visualization (implies contrast agent administration)
    • Adipose tissue distribution

    Dinamics

    • Lung edema evolution

    Radiochemistry

    Gallium-68 Radiochemistry 68Ga-DOTA

    • Perfusion

    Gallium-68 Radiochemistry 68Ga-DOTATATE

    • Somatostatin receptors. Oncology/ Cardiology

    Gallium-68 Radiochemistry 68Ga-DOTARGD2

    • Integrin receptor Oncology/Cardiology

    Fluorine-18 Radiochemistry 18FTHA

    • Fatty acids metabolism (FTHA)

    Antibodies radiolabeling 68Ga or 89Zr

    • Antibodies biodistribution. Cardiology, oncology and immunology

    Intravital Microscopy

    Calvarial bone marrow

    Cremaster muscle

    Tibial and plantar muscle

    Lung

    Skin

    Liver

    • Microvascular diameter
    • Skeletal muscle morphology
    • Anatomy of the microvascular network of the bone marrow
    • Leukocyte interactions during the steps of the infiltration process: rolling over the vascular endothelium, firm adhesion, crawling and extravasation
    • Quantification of neutrophil platelet interactions
    • Interactions of satellite cells with macrophages, endothelium, muscle fiber etc. (2D and 3D images)
    • Evolution of the inflammation process, Acute Lung Damage, alveolocapillary permeability and tissue repair in microcirculation and/or tissue, etc.
    • Microvascular Hemodynamics: average blood flow speed
    • Kinetic parameters of neutrophils on vascular endothelium and extravascular space (speed, directionality, cumulative distance and Euclidean distance)
    • Clot formation
    • NETs

    Most of the facilities and imaging techniques described are also available to external users through the ICTS "Distributed Biomedical Imaging Network" (http://www.redib.net/).