Melbourne, Australia, and Utrecht, the Netherlands, April 24 2019 – The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, an independent Australian-based research institute recognized internationally for its groundbreaking work on the function of platelets in heart disease and cancer, has successfully installed their Milabs hybrid U-CT/OI small animal imager. This non-invasive imaging system combines 2D and 3D optical luminescence and fluorescence imaging with diagnostic X-ray CT. As such, the system enables the detection of fluorescence activated platelets in deep-seated organs or pathology – e.g., arterial and venous thrombosis, and difficult-to-treat cancer cells. Its unique 3D tomographic optical imaging capability is guided by high-resolution low-dose CT that can be used for complementary diagnostic applications such as angiography, atherosclerosis detection, and body fat composition analysis.
Image courtesy of the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute
According to Professor Karlheinz Peter, Deputy Director, Basic and Translational Science: “We are looking forward to using MILabs multimodal tomographic U-CT/OI imaging system to further extend our research in thrombotic and inflammatory diseases, such as myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis to autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, and cancer.”
Professor Frederik Beekman, CEO/CSO of MILabs adds: “We are very gratified that Prof. Karlheinz Peter has selected our dual-modality OI/CT tomography system to support his groundbreaking research on the detection of activated platelets in the setting of heart disease, as well as his recently discovered novel approach to diagnosing, targeting and destroying difficult-to-treat cancer cells“
Trent Warburton, Managing Director at TrendBio Pty Ltd, MILabs’ exclusive Australian distributor, stated: “We are pleased that we can support the Baker Institute’s pioneering work with fluorescence tomography for assessing and monitoring plaque instability and thereby testing potential plaque-stabilizing drugs.”
About the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute:
Commonly known as the Baker Institute, the institute is an Australian independent medical research institute headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. Established in 1926, the institute is one of Australia’s oldest medical research organizations with a historical focus on cardiovascular disease. In 2008, it became the country’s first medical research institute to target diabetes, heart disease, obesity and their complications at the primary, clinical and population health levels. Most recently, the institute has extended its groundbreaking preclinical platelet research to targeting and destroying difficult-to-treat cancer cells. For more information, visit https://baker.edu.au/research
About MILabs B,V,:
MILabs has a history of providing a continuum of innovations to expand the applications of its multimodality imaging solutions used for the development of new diagnostic solutions and therapies. With its latest adaptive preclinical platform, MILabs has succeeded at commercializing a scalable imaging platform, able to accommodate PET, SPECT, Optical and CT imaging in a single integrated and user-friendly system.
Awarded the Commercial Innovation of the Year 2018 at the Molecular Imaging Congress, this platform is globally recognized for being able to deliver the highest quality molecular, functional and anatomical images.
For more information, visit: http://www.milabs.com or contact MILabs at [email protected]
About TrendBio Pty Ltd (Melbourne, Australia):
TrendBio a specialized instrument and consumable supplier servicing the Australian and New Zealand scientific markets. With products from market leaders across the divisions of Imaging, Genomics, Proteomics, Cell Biology, Biologics, and Chemistry. As a leading supplier, TrendBio provides high-level support covering technical, applications and sales. For more information, visit https://www.trendbio.com.au
