Cofunding core facility - Animalarium,Radiological and Radiobiological Techniques, Histology Core (CORE ARTH)

The services and infrastructure offered within the CORE ARTH include the integration of four areas of expertise: laboratory animal housing (Animal facilities), non-invasive in vivo imaging of small laboratory animals (Radiological Techniques), Histology and Radiobiological techniques (biological response after radiation). These four disciplines are complementary and necessary in laboratory animal research, and certainly add value when the expertise is integrated into one Core facility. In this animal research, several animal models are necessary in which physiological, (bio)chemical, neurological, immunological and other processes can be studied preclinically. Within the CORE ARTH, the expertise, infrastructure and services here will be provided by the Department of Laboratory Animal Housing (Animal faciltites). In addition to studying the laboratory animal itself, in many cases non-invasive in vivo medical imaging techniques are used to follow up a disease process or to check the effect of a therapy. The expertise, infrastructure and services are provided here within the field of Radiological Techniques (Imaging Small Animals) and radiobiology. The CORE ARTH will therefore have state-of-the-art research infrastructure for non-invasive in vivo imaging of small laboratory animals (mainly rats and mice). Final histological examination of the tissues will be the last important step to allow any microscopic observations and evaluations after (immuno)histochemical staining within these tissues, which can be correlated with the imaging findings. Within the CORE ARTH, the expertise, infrastructure and services here will be provided by the histology discipline. Given the affinity with the infrastructure used, the diagnostic laboratory for radiosensitivity analysis was also integrated within this CORE Facility. The service itself, and the expertise with the methodologies used, mentioned above, forms a clear synergy in terms of expertise, training and supervision.