Press Release – January 11, 2011 – Utrecht, the Netherlands
MILabs, B.V. the Netherlands-based innovator and manufacturer of preclinical SPECT/PET/CT imaging devices used in biological and pharmaceutical research, is proud to announce an expanded strategic partnership with SkyScan N.V. based in Kontich, Belgium, one of the world’s leading producers of micro-CT systems meeting a wide range of applications. For the first time ever, biomedical research labs worldwide may receive the highest resolution SPECT/ PET system from MILabs and the highest resolution CT from SkyScan all in one fully matched, uncompromised configuration that can perform preclinical imaging across the complete spectrum of in vivo applications. This will greatly facilitate small animal research.
Best of both in one platform
“We are very pleased to now be able to provide our customers with an uncompromised choice in CT performance based on the particular goals of their research labs. For the first time, our customers can receive the highest resolution microSPECT/PET performance with our U-SPECT and VECTor as well as the highest resolution CT from SkyScan integrated in one platform. We look forward to further enhancing the combined product that we deliver in partnership with SkyScan as we continue to expand our relationship,” states Professor Frederik Beekman, CEO/CSO of MILabs.
Direct benefit for customers
The model from the SkyScan CT product line integrated within the MILabs systems, was carefully chosen partly by its integration flexibility, but more importantly for the CT system’s fast-scan times and low-dose performance features which best match the requirements for molecular imaging applications. Therefore the expanded strategic alliance between SkyScan and MILabs’ highest resolution SPECT/PET devices – U-SPECT and VECTor – is of direct profit to the customers, offering them a new choice in micro-CT system performance based upon specific application and research goals. Furthermore MILabs is able to provide alternative high performance SkyScan micro-CT devices that deliver a total system solution which best matches specific customer need, particularly in the case of in vivo labs requiring a hybrid SPECT/PET/CT platform that also performs ultra-high resolution CT imaging required for e.g. bone or thoracic imaging.
Accessories and extras
In addition to fully integrated SPECT/CT and SPECT/PET/CT devices, MILabs and SkyScan have developed compatible animal holders and bed designs which allow quick and easy animal transfer from one system to the other. In addition, specialized “Click-Over” interface software provides automatic fusion of CT datasets with functional molecular imaging for advanced research applications. Moreover, all CT systems are equipped with SkyScan’s comprehensive library of Morphometric Bone Analysis software delivering advanced segmentation and visualization tools.
About MILabs B.V.:
”Providing Small Details for Big Discoveries”
MILabs is specialized in cutting edge biomedical imaging instruments (SPECT, PET, CT) for preclinical research and was founded in 2006 by Professor Frederik Beekman, as a spin-off initiated in the project group “Physics of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine” at the University Medical Centre Utrecht. The MILabs proprietary technologies and products that provide SPECT and PET scanners with the highest resolution in the market and with unique dynamic imaging capabilities, enable researchers to visualize the ‘smallest details for big discoveries’. Moreover, all MILabs systems significantly reduce research cost and time for the development of new therapies and drugs. MILabs’ product portfolio comprises several imaging modalities with the U-SPECT-II, U-CT, U-SPECT-II/CT and the newly launched VECTor, the first preclinical device for true simultaneous SPECT/PET imaging. MILabs’ mission is to continue providing world-class imaging systems for discoveries in preclinical research and to expand the business globally and across more imaging modalities.
About SkyScan N.V.:
SkyScan specializes in the development and manufacturing of systems for 3-dimensional non-destructive investigation of an object’s internal microstructure – micro tomography or micro-CT. Building on more than twenty years of experience, SkyScan was able to construct the first commercial desktop microtomograph in 1997. The standard commercial micro tomography systems from SkyScan today reach a spatial resolution in the submicron range.
