Preclinical Imaging

During the past few decades magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - specifically, preclinical MRI - and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), have proven themselves to be extremely useful for research applications in the various Life Sciences.

Neuroscience research is heavily reliant on animal MRI which has, in many instances, become recognized as the benchmark for this field. Some of the foremost applications of clinical and preclinical MRI include respiratory, cardiovascular and gastro-intestinal studies; as well as research relating to oncology, arthritis and metabolic disorders. Recent developments in genome research and molecular biology have resulted in increased use of preclinical MRI applications in animals. Rapid phenotyping of transgenic animals and molecular imaging are but two applications which have extended the role of preclinical MRI in the field of Pharmacology.

The range of preclinical MRI applications includes brain and organ imaging, tumor assessment, disease progression and functional imaging. Other potential research applications include investigation of new contrast mechanisms and agents, monitoring gene expression, analysis of protein interactions, and determination of pharmacokinetics.

Although small animal scanners are superior to clinical scanners in terms of providing a better signal-to-noise ratio, the available pulse sequences are different from those in clinical scanners, and the magnetic field strength is often much higher.

Molecular imaging aims to reveal the source of disease carriers through the combined use of molecular biomarkers and probes, using a vast variety of preclinical imaging techniques.

Advantages of pre-clinical MRI:

Good spatial resolution, up to 100 µm and even 25 µm in very high strength magnetic fields.

Has excellent contrast resolution to distinguish between normal and pathological tissue.

Preclinical-MRI can be used in a wide variety of applications, including anatomical, functional, and molecular imaging.

Safety: since micro-MRI's mechanism is based on a magnetic field, it is much safer compared to radiation based imaging modalities such as micro-CT and micro-PET.

Mr. Rapoport founded several Israeli and US companies in the fields of NMR and MRI and is currently the CEO of Aspect. Aspect designs innovative MRI based systems for in-vivo small animal preclinical imaging and in-vitro studies.

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