ULTRASOUND BIOMICROSCOPY OF SMALL ANIMAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY WITH THE VEVO 77

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Shared Instrumentation Grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the grant, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Virginia has an extensive NIH funded research program in cardiovascular and cancer research using mice. Currently, extensive use is made of a 4.7 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. However, the MRI has technical limitations (e.g. frame rate) and image acquisition rate is too slow to permit the imaging throughput that is desired. We have already extensively investigated the use of a Siemens Sequoia ultrasound scanner to perform ultrasound-based cardiac imaging in mice. The Sequoia's image resolution is scarcely adequate for our current research activities. However, the proposed purchase of a VisualSonics Vevo 770 small animal ultrasound imaging system will facilitate improvements in spatial resolution by a factor of two to three in each of all three dimensions. This will enable significant improvement in our ability to resolve left ventricular (LV) borders and thus quantify LV function. More importantly, it will enable new research that is impossible to conduct on the Sequoia. For example, we anticipate being able to noninvasively track the location of bound molecular targeted microbubbles in vivo with superb anatomic contextual information. It will also enable us to make high resolution quantitative assessments of blood flow and perfusion in mouse and rat models of vascular disease. The superb resolution of the Vevo scanner (90 microns x 30 microns) provides superior input data for various image analysis / processing techniques. For example, vessel and organ walls may be more reliably and accurately assessed using high-speed, automated techniques. The high resolution also enables the fine detail of myocardial muscle motion to be automatically discerned, thus providing for ultrasound-based strain imaging in the mouse heart. Thus the Vevo 770 will enable investigators at UVA to develop several new technologies and applications that could not be developed without this cutting-edge instrumentation. Furthermore, at UVA, we are fortunate to be able to benchmark our new ultrasound techniques against already validated MRI-based approaches to LV quantification and strain imaging. Longer term, the Vevo 770 scanner may enable noninvasive assessment of tumor growth and angiogenesis. The PI has also established a close technical relationship with VisualSonics so that technology developed at UVA in the areas of 3D acquisition and reconstruction, image processing and strain measurement, may be commercialized by VisualSonics. Public Health Statement: The purchase of the Vevo system will permit rapid progress to be made in fundamental understanding of the progress of various forms of heart and human circulation diseases. It will also allow the analysis of possible treatments for these conditions. It is common practice to use mice for initial experimentation in this field for a number of practical reasons - similarity to human species at the genetic level, ability to manipulate the genome, low cost, inexpensive housing, etc.