Ultrasound imaging system with injection arm (Teilfinanzierung)

霍普儿童癌症中心（KiTZ）是海德堡大学医院和德国癌症研究中心的联合机构，其主要目标是将研究和临床工作结合起来，开发个性化的靶向治疗概念，并允许快速临床转化，总体目标是改善癌症儿童的治疗。国际注册试验INFORM提供了一个临床测序工作流程，以确定每个患者的特定漏洞，从而确定潜在的靶向治疗方案。最近，还包括对肿瘤组织短期培养物的个性化药物筛选。此外，从肿瘤组织建立PDX（患者来源的异种移植物）小鼠模型以产生模型系统。这些模型可用于个体化药物筛选，但通常也是临床前药物开发的重要模型。目前，颅外实体瘤模型只能皮下植入。然而，原位（在肿瘤发展的原始器官中）植入更接近于模拟患者的情况。不幸的是，在INFORM的情况下，将肿瘤组织手术植入各种靶器官是不可行的。超声成像系统可以与注射臂组合，以执行超声引导的小鼠注射。 超声引导注射允许将肿瘤组织微创植入不同的靶器官。由于它速度更快，需要的专业手术技能更少，因此非常适合用于INFORM PDX项目。此外，该过程对小鼠的侵入性和衰弱性较小。此外，与MRI成像相比，可以用超声成像系统以更快、更便宜和压力更小的方式在3D中原位监测原位肿瘤。多普勒模式允许测量肿瘤的血管化，这对于监测快速作用药物的功能是重要的。小鼠小靶器官的成像需要在20至55 MHz的频率范围内进行测量。这样的系统将显著改善KiTZ的临床前模型的生成和临床前开发。它将主要由INFORM PDX团队（90%）使用，此外还将用于神经母细胞瘤（5%）和儿科肉瘤（5%）的临床前研究。一般来说，KiTZ和大学医院的每个研究人员都可以使用该系统，如果它有空闲的能力。

A major aim of the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center (KiTZ), which is a joint institution of the University Hospital Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center, is to bring research and clinical work together to develop individualized targeted therapy concepts and allow a fast clinical translation with the overall aim to improve the treatment of children with cancer. The international registry trial INFORM provides a clinical sequencing workflow to identify specific vulnerabilities in every individual patient in order to identify potential targeted therapeutic options. Recently, a personalized drug screening of short-term cultures of the tumor tissues was included as well. In addition, PDX (patient derived xenograft) mouse models are established from the tumor tissues to generate model systems. These models can be used for an individualized drug screening, but are in addition important models for pre-clinical drug development in general. Currently, models for extracranial solid tumors can only be implanted subcutaneously. However, orthotopic (in the original organ of tumor development) implantation mimics the situation in the patient more closely. Unfortunately, surgical implantation of tumor tissue into the various target organs is not feasible in the setting of INFORM. Ultrasound imaging systems can be combined with an injection arm to perform ultrasound-guided injections into mice. Ultrasound-guided injection allows a minimally-invasive implantation of tumor tissues into different target organs. Since it is much faster and requires less specialized surgical skills, it is well suited for the use in the INFORM PDX project. Moreover, the procedure is less invasive and debilitating for the mice. Furthermore, the orthotopic tumors can be monitored in 3D in situ with the ultrasound imaging system in a faster, cheaper and less stressing way compared to MRI imaging. The Doppler mode allows measurement of the vascularization of the tumors, which is important to monitor the functions of fast acting drugs. The imaging of small target organs in mice requires measurements in a frequency range of 20 to 55 MHz. Such a system will significantly improve the generation of preclinical models and preclinical development at the KiTZ. It will be mainly used by the INFORM PDX team (90%) and in addition will be used for preclinical studies on neuroblastoma (5%) and pediatric sarcoma (5%). In general, every researcher form the KiTZ and University Hospital can use the system if it has spare capacity.