MicroCAT II Micro-Computed Tomography Scanner

The central instrument of In Vivo Micro-CT Core is a MicroCATII scanner with data acquisition workstation, tomographic workstation and image processing workstation.

Gas Anesthesia System

Animals need to anesthetized during in vivo scans to prevent motion artifacts. This is accomplished by utilization of non-rebreathing anesthetic machine that delivers Isoflurane/O2 anesthetic. The anesthesia system consists of the induction chamber and the scanning chamber.

Physiological Support and Monitoring System

During in vivo scan the temperature of the animal is maintained at a preset value using Temperature Controller (model TC-1000), miniature thermistor probe and a heating pad.

Pulse oximetry is accomplished with special oximeter designed for mice and rats (MouseOx). It allows noninvasive continuous monitoring of arterial oxygen saturation, pulse rate and breath rate in animal subjects during the scan with heart rates up to 900 bpm.

Tomographic Image Reconstruction and Analysis Software

We implemented EXXIM COBRA software for ultrafast micro-CT reconstruction. A workstation with Amira image processing and 3D visualization software is available. Other analytical tools are available Image Analysis Resources.