Katerina Dikaiou1, Florian Stuker1, Jan Klohs1, Andreas Elmer1, Jorge Ripoll1, 2, Markus Rudin1, 3
1Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 2Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser FORTH, Crete, Greece; 3University of Zurich, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Zurich, Switzerland
The combination of fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) with magnetic resonance imaging can provide complementary structural, functional and molecular information in vivo. Here, a new generation of a hybrid FMT/MR system for mouse imaging is presented. Proof of principle of this system is shown on a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimers disease using a dye known to bind to beta-amyloid plaques. High-quality datasets from both modalities were acquired, and we could successfully distinguish wild type from transgenic animals in vivo with FMT. MRI revealed microbleeds indicative of vascular pathology. Our results were validated ex vivo.
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