SHOWCASE PIPELINES
Austrian BioImaging/CMI has set up and developed a variety of novel correlated multimodal imaging (CMI) pipelines to tackle a variety of (previously inaccessible) biomedical research questions – accessing both multiscale and holistic information. Examples include autophagy in plants, micro-calcifications in rats, angiogenesis in tumors, thrombosis in knock-out mice, or jawbone regeneration in osteonecrosis. Please contact the Director of Austrian BioImaging/CMI, , to gain more information about multimodal imaging or to discuss your project.
We are also happy to refer to our recent review on CMI (Correlated Multimodality Imaging in Life Sciences: Expanding the Biomedical Horizon) that covers the state-of-the-art, practical aspects, challenges and future of correlated microscopy, hybrid preclinical imaging, novel CMI pipelines and correlation software.
Accessible resolution and information to Correlated Multimodality Imaging: Multiscale and holistic information. Adapted from Walter* et al., Front. Phys. 2020
Please find below 3 selected pipelines (and publications) that we have set up to tackle:
1. Blood-Vessel Tracking & Angiogenesis in Tumor Growth
Tumor vasculature and angiogenesis play a crucial role in tumor progression. We established a multimodal imaging pipeline to characterize the tumor vasculature across scales holistically both on a structural and functional level. Importantly, we imaged exactly the same tumor and Region of Interest (ROI) using several imaging modalities at different scales and penetration depths. The pipeline visualizes capillaries and microcapillaries, puts them into the context of the overall tumor vessel network and allows to quantify and compare vessel densities as measured by different modalities. The pipeline adds functional information about hypoxia and blood flow rates. The multimodal approach includes both well-established technologies such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (microMRI), micro-Computed Tomography (microCT) or small-animal Ultrasound (US), and novel and recent imaging approaches in preclinical settings, such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) or High-Resolution Episcopic Imaging (HREM). Based on the pipeline, we established an open-source pipeline for semi-automated correlation of a variety of imaging data in tumor vascularization.
2. Regeneration Processes in Osteonecrosis of the Jawbone
In this study, we established an unprecedented correlated multimodality imaging (CMI) pipeline to holistically characterize osteonecrosis and the effects of physical therapies on bone morphology, stiffness and elemental composition. The multimodal approach includes both well-established technologies such as microCT, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and novel and recent imaging approaches in biomedical settings, such as X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF).
3. Micro-Calcification in Rat Aortae
The detection of sites of vascular calcification in the blood system may be used as an early prognostic marker for cardiovascular diseases. In this project, we aimed to investigate if small-animal PET with 18F-NaF is able to detect vascular calcification in the thoracic aorta of male rats after an adenine-rich low-protein diet. After PET imaging, thoracic aortas were removed, imaged with autoradiography as a template for further analyses of the region of interest (ROI), and transferred to microCT. We then combined microCT to visualize micro-calcifications at high resolution, histopathology to confirm our findings at the ROI, and XRF to highlight increased calcium concentrations. The combination of imaging modalities allows us to answer whether PET signals and calcifications overlay and to characterize the micro-calcifications in depth (composition, mineralization and morphology).
