Welcome!
The microPET/Small-Animal Animal Imaging Facility Core at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) provides individual research projects with unique capabilities for detecting, localizing, and biologically characterizing primary and metastatic cancer cells in vivo in small-animal (mouse and rat) models, including xenograft, transgenic, and knock-out tumor models. This is accomplished utilizing the following non-invasive in vivo imaging techniques:
With the opening of the Phase-1 Building of the Zuckerman Construction Project, the microPET/Small-Animal Animal Imaging Facility Core Imaging Core was re-located to the C2 level (Room Z-C014) within the barrier facility of the new Zuckerman Research Center. This area houses our R4 and Focus 120 microPETs (Concorde Microsystems, Knoxville, TN), Ivis 200 optical imaging system (Xenogen Corp, Alameda, CA), microCAT II (Imtek, Inc, Oak Ridge, TN) dedicated small-animal (rodent) CT, X-SPECT (Gamma Medica, Northridge, CA) dedicated small-animal SPECT-CT, Maestro optical fluorescence imaging system (Cambridge Research & Instruments, Woburn, MA), and VisEn FMT2500 near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence tomography system (VisEn Medical, Woburn, MA). Our Ivis 100 optical imaging system (Xenogen Corp, Alameda, CA) and Vevo 770 ultrasound system (VisualSonics, Toronto, Canada) were re-located to the 12th floor of the Rockefeller Research Laboratory (RRL), providing improved access to the primary users of these two systems. In Phase-2 of the Zuckerman Construction Project, all of the foregoing instrumentation except the Ivis 100 (which will remain on RRL 12) will be consolidated in more spacious quarters within the Center’s expanded barrier facility.
The scientific applications of small-animal imaging by MSKCC investigators include: phenotypic screening of tumor incidence, progression and therapy-induced regression in xenograft models and transgenic/knock-out models; assessment of trafficking of cancer cells, stem cells, and immune effector cells in vivo; evaluation of trans-gene expression, and development, testing, and validation of targeted therapies (i.e. pharmacodynamics); and detection and localization of tumor hypoxia and re-oxygenation. Because imaging is non-invasive, longitudinal studies of tumor initiation, progression, and possible intervention-induced or spontaneous-regression can be performed in the same experimental animal and potentially over the entire natural history of the disease. This minimizes the number of animals required and more realistically reflects the prolonged disease process seen in patients, especially in the case of spontaneous-disease (i.e. transgenic/knock-out) models.
Animal studies performed in the Facility must conform with all applicable policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), the Research Animal Resource Center (RARC), the Committee on Radiation (COR), the New York City Bureau of Radiological Health (BRH) (pursuant to Article 175, Radiation Control, of the NYC Health Code), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In particular, each Investigator must have a current IACUC Protocol authorizing whatever imaging study is planned and, if applicable, a current COR License authorizing the use of specific radionuclides in experimental animals. All animal imaging studies require that the animal remains completely immobilized for the duration of the image acquisition; in our Facility, that is accomplished by isoflurane inhalation. Our Facility provides the anesthesia systems required.
Users are charged fees for the services provided by this Core. These chargebacks offset a portion of the Core's operating budget, which is subsidized by institutional and grant funds. The rate schedule - in cost per hour – are tabulated below.
|
Service |
Internal Billing Rate (MSKCC) |
External Billing Rate (non-MSKCC) |
|
Focus 120 mciroPET |
$ 210.00 |
$ 420.00 |
|
R4 mciroPET |
$ 210.00 |
$ 420.00 |
|
Ivis System 100 |
$ 45.00 |
$ 90.00 |
|
Ivis System 200 |
$ 45.00 |
$ 90.00 |
|
microCAT II mciroCT |
$ 210.00 |
$ 420.00 |
|
Vevo 770 mciroUS |
$ 65.00 |
$ 130.00 |
|
X-SPECT SPECT-CT |
$ 210.00 |
$ 420.00 |
|
Maestro |
$ 45.00 |
$ 90.00 |
|
VisEn |
$ 65.00 |
$ 130.00 |
The normal operating hours (nominal) of the microPET/Small-Animal imaging Core Facility are 8:00 to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, but arrangements can be made for imaging studies on a 24X7 basis; the charges are the same regardless of when imaging studies are performed. For microPET and XSPECT studies, which require the administration of a radiotracer, the charges tabulated above do NOT include the cost of the tracer.
|
M-F, 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
