A Shared MicroCT Instrument for Virtual Histology Imaging of Bone and Soft Tissue

描述(申请人提供)：本申请中要求的仪器是一种超高分辨率的显微计算机断层扫描(MicroCT)扫描仪，用于从体外标本中评估三维骨骼和软组织结构。该仪器是一台Skyscan1172微型CT扫描仪，专为骨的整体成像而设计，用于组织形态计量学和骨密度和骨矿含量的测定。此外，利用我们研究所开发的一种独特的基于MicroCT的软组织虚拟组织学方法，人们可以为广泛的生物医学应用成像软组织的三维结构，包括胚胎学、临床前癌症模型中微转移的检测以及血管生成期间新血管的评估。南得克萨斯州地区可用的微型CT设备都无法达到SkyScan 1172的分辨率。试图收集其他仪器上的数据的用户因无法获取足够详细的数据而感到沮丧，因此不得不向商业服务提供商发送样本，从而招致不便和费用。这种情况是次优的，因为这些公司缺乏生物医学专业知识，并且用户无法迭代地优化扫描参数。对同类系统进行的最佳空间分辨率、最小噪声、最少伪影和最佳速度的对比测试证明，SkyScan 1172是满足UTHSCSA用户社区需求的最合适的仪器。作为UTHCSA园区的共享资源，SkyScan 1172将作为医学与科学整合研究所(NCRR CTSI，UL1 RR025767)的共享资源提供给整个南得克萨斯州的UTHSCSA调查人员和合作机构，以及其他州的学术研究人员。立即，共享的工具将支持12项NIH拨款以及10项其他联邦资助的地区和国家拨款，但预计一旦该系统在区域范围内可用，其他一些研究项目将利用该系统。基于MicroCT的软组织虚拟组织学作为一种广泛可用的应用程序的开发被认为是这一共享仪器赠款的关键创新。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The instrument requested in this application is an ultra-high resolution microscopic computed tomography (microCT) scanner to evaluate 3-dimensional bone and soft tissue architecture from ex vivo specimens. This instrument, a Skyscan 1172 microCT scanner, is designed for en bloc imaging of bone for histomorphometry and determination of bone mineral density and bone mineral content. In addition, taking advantage of a unique method of microCT-based soft tissue Virtual Histology developed at our institution, one can image 3-dimensional structures of soft tissue for a wide variety of biomedical applications that include embryology, detection of micro-metastases in preclinical cancer models, and evaluation of neocapillaries during angiogenesis. None of the microCT equipment available in the South Texas region is capable of achieving the same resolution as the SkyScan 1172. Users who have attempted to collect data on the other instruments have been frustrated by the inability to capture data with sufficient detail and have therefore resorted to incurring the inconvenience and expense to send samples to commercial service providers. This situation is suboptimal due to that lack of biomedical expertise at the companies and the inability of the users to iteratively optimize scan parameters. Comparative tests of comparable systems for best spatial resolution, least noise, least artifacts, and best speed proved that the SkyScan 1172 was the most appropriate instrument to satisfy the needs of the UTHSCSA user community. As a shared resource for the UTHCSA campus, the SkyScan 1172 will be available to UTHSCSA investigators and partnering institutions throughout South Texas as a shared resource for the Institute for the Integration of Medicine and Science (NCRR CTSI, UL1 RR025767) as well as to academic investigators in other states. Immediately, the shared instrument would support 12 NIH grants as well as 10 other federally-funded regional and national grants however it is expected that a number of other research programs will take advantage of this system once it becomes available regionally. The development of microCT-based soft tissue Virtual Histology as a widely available application is considered a key innovation of this shared instrumentation grant.