ShEEP and LAMb Request for IVIS Imaging System

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Biomedical and rehabilitation research depends increasingly on state-of-the-art imaging modalities to visualize cells, tissues, and organs. At VAPAHCS, our research program that depends on cutting edge imaging includes the study of such important diseases and disorders for the Veteran population as Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, cancer, autoimmune disorders, degenerative disorders, vascular disease, spinal cord injury, and traumatic injuries to muscle, bone, and tendon. For so many lines of research, disease modeling and experimental therapeutics have been revolutionized by the development of imaging systems that allow for the tracking of cells in vivo in living animals over time. This approach has been used extensively at VAPAHCS for the past 10 years for the analysis of such processes as non-invasive disease monitoring, stem cell therapies, cell transplantation, tumor growth, in vivo gene expression analysis, immune cell tracking, and neurogenesis, and remains a critical element of our research program. The Perkin/Elmer IVIS Spectrum In Vivo Imaging System is a top-level research instrument that combines cutting edge technology with quality and exceptional ease of operation. This instrument will replace an outdated version that is almost ten years old and failing regularly despite routine maintenance. Furthermore, the new system features includes a camera of enhanced sensitivity providing increased spatial resolution and software that provides more powerful image processing and analysis for the key functionalities of Bioluminescence Imaging (BLI), Fluorescent Light Imaging (FLI), Cherenkov light, 3D tomography, and Spectral Unmixing. The current, outdated equipment is used up to 10 hours a day, including weekends, by investigators at VAPAHCS. The ability to replace our outdated and failing system with a new and updated system would greatly facilitate and accelerate the research program at VAPAHCS. We have outlined an administrative process to oversee the use and maintenance of the new equipment, and we outline a plan for institutional support to provide the resources for equipment service over the next ten years. Overall, the purchase of a new Perkin/Elmer IVIS Spectrum In Vivo Imaging System is critically important for the ongoing biomedical and rehabilitation research at VAPAHCS in order to allow investigators to continue to be at the forefront of research in their respective fields with access to state-of-the-art equipment.