MicroCT

Through a partnership with the University of Arizona Cancer Center, the TBIR provides a Siemens Inveon micro-CT scanner, which is a variable zoom cone-beam X-ray CT system that can generate images with a spatial resolution as small as 20 microns over a field of view as large as 8.4 cm x 5.5 cm. The large field of view enables single-bed position imaging of an entire mouse as well as larger objects such as rats with bed-stitching. The fully shielded design has built-in anesthesia and optional physiological monitoring. The scanner is best at evaluating bone density, but it can also image soft tissues with the use of CT contrast agents. Physiological monitoring ensures viability of the animal during the scan, and respiratory & cardiac gating improves image quality of the heart and lungs.