Ultra-low noise and high signal-to-noise ratio small animal pre-clinical imaging of ultra-faint fluorescence, bioluminescence and Cerenkov luminescence

我们要求资助一台高性能（超低噪声和超高灵敏度）科学相机，用于临床前研究小动物的光学成像，以及相机物镜，电动滤光轮和光学滤光片。这些物品将用于升级我们医学成像中心，即舍布鲁克molsamculaire医学成像中心（CIMS）现有的小型动物光学成像系统。这一升级对于提高系统的性能是必要的：1)检测小动物成像中遇到的极低光照水平所需的灵敏度；2)获取图像的速度。这将有助于算法（所谓的层析算法）的发展和实际应用，通过荧光和生物发光协议获得动物内部的3D图像。我们系统的灵敏度和速度的提高将使我们能够进行以前从未实现过的成像实验，这对于更好地理解乳腺癌和脑癌的基本机制（癌细胞迁移、转移的发展）和可视化与疾病发展和治疗相关的活体动态过程是必要的。这也将使我们能够实现新的医学成像技术，如切伦科夫发光成像，并在CIMS追求发光探针的发展，以瞄准并允许在活体动物体内非侵入性地可视化特定疾病。有了要求的设备，我们的小动物成像系统将达到超过所有商用系统的灵敏度。这将为CIMS提供竞争优势，并为开发新的成像协议提供机会，使我们能够解决小动物光学成像的新应用。

We request funding for a high performance (ultra-low noise and ultra-high sensitivity) scientific camera to perform optical imaging of small animals for pre-clinical research, along with a camera objective, a motorized filter wheel, and optical filters. These items will serve to upgrade a small animal optical imaging system we have available at our medical imaging center, the Centre d'imagerie moléculaire de Sherbrooke (CIMS). This upgrade is necessary to increase the performances of the system in terms of 1) the sensitivity required to detect the very low light levels encountered in small animal imaging and 2) the speed at which images can be acquired. This will contribute to the development and practical application of algorithms (so-called tomographic algorithms) for obtaining 3D images of the interior of animals via fluorescence and bioluminescence protocols. The increased sensitivity and speed of our system will enable us to carry out imaging experiments never achieved before and necessary to better understand fundamental mechanisms in breast and brain cancer (cancer cells migration, development of metastases) and to visualize inside living bodies dynamic processes related to disease development and treatment. This will also allow us to implement novel medical imaging techniques such as Cerenkov luminescence imaging and to pursue the development at CIMS of light emitting probes to target and allow visualizing specific diseases non-invasively inside living animals. With the requested equipment, our small animal imaging system will reach a sensitivity surpassing all commercially available systems. This will give CIMS a competitive advantage and open opportunities for developing new imaging protocols, enabling us to tackle new applications of small animal optical imaging.