Instrumentation
We house an array of instrumentation used in the in vivo characterization of experimental animal models. With an emphasis on cardiovascular applications, other areas of study include metabolism, tissue hypoxia, tumor growth and behavior.
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Visualsonics Vevo 2100 high-frequency ultrasound system equipped with high-resolution ultrasound transducers designed for rat and mouse (9-70 MHz).
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Visualsonics Vevo-LAZR system for in vivo high-resolution photoacoustic imaging of small animals
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Biosafety cabinet located next to the Vevo 2100 enabling imaging to be performed on animals that are immunocompromised or have been exposed to biosafety level 2 agents.
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Moor Instruments Laser Speckle Contrast Imager (moorFLPI-2).
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Bioluminescence/Fluorescence imaging (IVIS Lumina X5, Perkin Elmer).
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DSI Telemetry system for both mice and rats.
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Metabolic cages (PromethION, Sable Instruments); mouse and rat.
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Behavior monitoring capabilities (Stoelting ANY-maze Video Tracking with open field, mazes and environment preference apparatus).
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Isoflurane anesthesia delivery systems.
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Small animal survival surgery facilities including operative microscopes and light sources.
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Necropsy/tissue procurement room.
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Ventilated racks and biosafety level 2 cabinets in each animal housing room.
Technical support
Animal housing and care are provided by fully trained and AALAS certified care staff.
Veterinary care is provided by MU’s Office of Animal Resources.
Technical support is available for training and use of equipment. Ongoing technical assistance is available for some procedures. Contact us and review our procedures.
Data handling, analysis and storage
Offline data analysis options are provided in most scenarios.
Temporary storage and archiving options are available for large image/data files.
Please review our procedures for more information.