Optical Imaging 

Our equipment can only accommodate small rodents and our imaging services are for research purposes only. Unfortunately, we cannot perform imaging on companion animals, such as cats and dogs.

The AISR Core’s Optical Imaging fleet is comprised of three IVIS® Optical Imaging Systems to provide our researchers with high-throughput imaging that has fast acquisition times, is cost-efficient, and easy-to-use. This non-invasive imaging provides the necessary tools to better understand molecular pathways of disease, detect early disease-related biological changes, track disease progression, help guide the drug discovery process, and evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug candidates.

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) uses luciferase genes and offers minimal background signals from the animal tissues, provides high specificity and precise quantification, and can be used to detect and monitor biological events such as tumor growth deep within the tissue.

Fluorescence imaging (FLI) is ideal for monitoring and quantifying cell behavior of biological targets and utilizes fluorescent reporters such as proteins, dyes, or nanoparticles, which emit photons when excited at a specific wavelength to produce light. Take a look at the diverse FLI reagents library below or find a comprehensive list here.

How to use the Optical Imaging Service:

You must have an approved IACUC protocol containing optical imaging. Register for an iLab solutions account. Arrange for instrument training with Jenna Steiner, AAS, CVT.

To register for an account:

Click here to login and register

• Login using your institution credentials
• Upon successful authentication, you will be prompted to select your PI/lab from the pull-down list and provide your phone number.
• Submit the completed registration form. Submission will notify your PI of your lab membership request.
• You will be sent an email with basic instructions on using the system at this time. However, you will not be able to place orders with your new account until your PI has approved your lab membership request.
• Instrument time must be reserved through the iLab Solutions scheduling calendar located on the CU Cancer Center Animal Imaging Shared Resource Core’s web page.

To Create an Equipment Reservation: 

Following the instructions listed below, you can place orders and schedule equipment time.

• Navigate to the iLab AISR core page
• Login using your institution credentials located in the upper right.
• Click the Schedule Equipment tab, click on Optical Imaging and then click on View Schedule button located next to the Equipment of interest.
• Click and drag on the day and time frame of your reservation.
• You will be asked to complete a form and provide payment information for your request before saving the reservation.

You may cancel a reservation any time up to the initiation point of the imaging session. Billing will reflect at minimum the amount of time reserved on the calendar or the total usage time if it was exceeded.