Caliper Life Sciences, a provider of tools and services for drug discovery, life sciences research and molecular diagnostics, has introduced Quantum FX, a stand-alone microCT system for preclinical imaging, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2010.
The Quantum FX is a low dose, microCT system that provides researchers with a 3-dimensional anatomical view of disease activity, tumor development and therapeutic response over multiple time points during the course of a study.
Non-invasive imaging is critical to monitor disease progression and therapeutic efficacy in preclinical drug development studies. Caliper’s IVIS imaging systems have earned recognition worldwide as enabling and innovative research tools for noninvasive preclinical research.
Caliper said that more than 850 IVIS systems are in use in drug discovery and life science research laboratories and over 1,400 peer-reviewed research articles attest to their value in a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas including cancer research, infectious disease, metabolic disease, neurology, cardiovascular disease, toxicology and other applications.
Quantum offers complementary 3-dimensional anatomical precision for current imaging applications, while also expanding Caliper’s offering in areas like skeletal, vascular and respiratory disease.
Quantum FX uses ultra-fast, sensitive and low dosage CT technology from Rigaku Corp, a provider in X-ray technology with more than 8,000 systems installed in over 50 countries to create high resolution 3D images with minimal X-ray exposure unlike traditional microCT systems. With Quantum, multiple images can be taken at many steps in a time-course study with minimal impact on the animal.
Caliper said that optical imaging and 2D X-ray methods using instruments like IVIS Lumina XR are routinely used in drug development. The use of Quantum low-dose CT in conjunction with IVIS Spectrum can provide, for example, co-registered images of tumor development that reveal the early stages of disease development without impacting the biology of the animal.
Kevin Hrusovsky, president and chief executive officer of Caliper Life Sciences, said: “Caliper’s preclinical IVIS imaging systems have played a significant role in translating experimental research into safe and effective drugs. The Quantum FX expands our current portfolio of bioluminescent, fluorescent and X-ray imaging systems to include CT anatomical imaging. We are now able to expand our imaging offerings to additional research areas, helping scientists translate preclinical research into future clinical treatments.”