SIMFp – Multimodal and Functional Preclinical Imaging System

Overview

SIMFp is an advanced infrastructure for preclinical imaging in small animals, mainly mice and rats. It combines multiple imaging modalities to enable simultaneous analysis of anatomical structure, metabolic activity, molecular processes and cellular dynamics, providing an integrated view of experimental models. The platform stands out for combining optical and nuclear imaging technologies, allowing researchers to study gene expression, precise anatomical localization, molecular interactions and physiological processes. It is especially valuable for translational biomedical research and the evaluation of disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.

Research Applications

SIMFp supports advanced preclinical studies across multiple biomedical fields by integrating functional, molecular and anatomical information. In cancer research, it can be used to monitor tumor metabolism, track luciferase-expressing tumor cells and localize tumors and metastases. In drug development, it supports biodistribution studies, receptor-targeted radiotracer evaluation, monitoring of therapy-induced cellular responses and nanoparticle-based imaging. In neuroscience, it can be used to study brain metabolism, neuroinflammation, synaptic activity and neurodegeneration. It is also useful in immunology and infection research for tracking immune cells, monitoring bacterial or viral infections through bioluminescence, and analyzing inflammatory and immune responses over time.

Technical Specifications

The infrastructure combines two main platforms:

Optical imaging platform (LAGO)

• Bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging
• High-sensitivity CCD camera cooled to -90 °C
• Multispectral LED illumination system with 20 LEDs
• Detection of very weak luminescent signals
• Wide field of view of up to 25 × 25 cm
• Simultaneous study of up to 10 animals
• Spectral filters for multichannel fluorescence analysis
• Automatic calibration for reproducible acquisition settings

Molecular imaging platform (Molecubes)

• Integrated PET, SPECT and CT modalities
• PET module with spatial resolution below 850 µm and high sensitivity above 12%
• Supports dynamic acquisitions, whole-body imaging and simultaneous multi-animal imaging
• SPECT module with spatial resolution below 500 µm, specific mouse and rat collimators, whole-body imaging and multitracer studies
• CT module with voxel sizes down to 50 µm for high-resolution anatomical imaging
• Respiratory and cardiac synchronized acquisition
• Advanced iterative reconstruction and strong soft-tissue contrast
• Anatomical co-registration and attenuation correction for PET and SPECT

The platform also includes inhalation anesthesia, thermal control and multimodal physiological monitoring, including ECG and respiration, allowing complex longitudinal studies under controlled conditions.