Translational Molecular Imaging Program for the University of Antwerp: application driven preclinical research.

Given the demographic aging, research in molecular imaging has a large social support and bearing. Moreover, the successful miniaturization of (S)PE(C)T cameras these past three to five years caused a major breakthrough for small animal imaging. Dedicated high-resolution small animal imaging systems have recently emerged as important new tools for research and have entered the preclinical arena. These new imaging systems permit researchers to noninvasively screen animals for pathologies, to use various cell lines in drug and tracer development, to monitor disease progression and also response to therapy. Considerable benefits are the in vivo nature of these small animal imaging experiments enabling longitudinal studies with the animal acting as its own control, the robustness, less labour intensive biodistributions, and less sacrification of laboratory animals. This benchfee (if granted) will be applied for an integrated translational molecular imaging program for UA thereby initiating fundamental science driven by clinical questions and enabled through these preclinical research tracks. This approach efficiently closes the feedback loop to the hospital ultimately resulting in improved patient comfort.

Keywords:MOLECULAR IMAGING, SMALL ANIMAL IMAGING, MULTIMODAL SCANNERS

Disciplines:Diagnostics, Laboratory medicine, Medical imaging and therapy, Medicinal products