Spotlight on Prof. Bart Cornelissen, PhD - CRUK Center at the University of Oxford

Spotlight on Prof. Bart Cornelissen, PhD
CRUK Center at the University of Oxford

– Targeting Tumors from the inside –

Prof. Bart Cornelissen is Group Leader of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Center, based at the Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology. In this interview, we talk about his research on the development of radiolabelled compounds for molecular imaging of the tumor microenvironment and DNA damage repair, and the radiobiology of radionuclide therapy of cancer in which he uses many unique capabilities of the MILabs VECTor/CT scanner.

For the full interview with Prof. Cornelissen, please click here .

Dual-isotope concurrent PET/SPECT imaging reveals important hidden insights about tumors.

There is only one translational imaging system that can do it all… at sub-mm resolution

MILabs VECTor PET/SPECT/CT is a single platform that can be user-programmed to block unwanted radiation and, at the same time, magnify the radiation belonging to the actual radiotracer distribution within the animal. The result: spurious radiation such as coincidence randoms in PET and concomitant high energy down scatter interference is eliminated, while activity-specific signals are magnified and detected with sub-mm resolution

No other system can image PET at sub-mm resolution and with drastic noise reductions to yield ultra-high-definition (UHD) PET images. Moreover, uncommon PET tracers can be imaged without positron range blurring, and images from two different PET isotopes can be obtained simultaneously. PET and SPECT tracers can be co-injected together, and images acquired under the same physical and physiological conditions, co-registered in space and time – no animal bed transfers required. Moreover, all common SPECT tracers can be imaged at ultra-high resolutions (UHR-SPECT), down to 250 microns. And maybe best of all, all existing and emerging high-energy alpha- and beta-emitting radiotherapy isotopes can be imaged at translation sub-mm resolutions.

In case you can’t use radioisotopes,
MILabs’ 3D Optical-CT is an excellent alternative

As documented in Drug Delivery, 2020, Vol. 27 by A. Molotkov et al, published by the Columbia University PET Center, New York: “Recent innovations by MILabs’ in-line Optical and CT imaging illustrate the broad potential of using 3D OI/CT as an accessible preclinical tool to develop therapies, by using information obtained from an in-line CT scanner for the reconstruction of 3D optical images and the use of NIR labels, 3D Fluorescence Tomography (FLT). After correlating 3D OI/CT the therapeutic distribution of a Cy7-labeled anti-PD-1 antibody with a [⁸⁹Zr] PET anti-PD-1 antibody, we demonstrated that this new optical/CT system is clinically relevant when testing the preclinical efficacy of potential macromolecular therapeutic strategies such as immunotherapy. Importantly, 3D OI/CT can act as an accessible preclinical surrogate for using radiolabeled entities in future clinical testing”.

As illustrated below, this 3D-Optical/CT system is highly scalable and flexible. It can be used on the bench on a docking station for 2D bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging or as used at Columbia University, in-line with a diagnostic CT system for 3D tomographic bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging.

For detailed information on Columbia’s 3D Optical/CT landmark research study, click here, for more information about our Optical Imaging Products click here.