Patrick C. Hettinger1, Rupeng Li2,
Ji-Geng Yan1, Hani S. Matloub1, Young R. Cho1,
Matthew L. Runquist2, Christopher P. Pawela1,2, James
S. Hyde2
1Plastic Surgery, Medical College of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; 2Biophysics, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
The
purpose of this study is to develop a rodent survival model that enables fMRI
at multiple time-points under sedation.
In this study, 9 Sprague-Dawley rats underwent surgical placement of a
long-term vascular access port. The
animals were then imaged using fMRI during nerve stimulation at 1 week, 3
weeks, and 5 weeks post-operatively. During imaging, all animals breathed
spontaneously while intravenous sedative was administered through the
port. To date, all animals have
successfully been imaged at each time-point.
All vascular access ports have remained patent, making these devices a
viable option for longitudinal MRI studies requiring venous access.