In Vivo Imaging Core Facility, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Mol Ther. 2011 Nov;19(11):1933-41. doi: 10.1038/mt.2011.194. Epub 2011 Sep 27.
Although the use of small animals for in vivo experimentation has been widespread, only recently has there been easy availability of techniques that allow noninvasive in vivo imaging of small animals. Because these techniques allow the same individual subject to be followed longitudinally throughout the duration of an experiment, their use is rapidly changing the way small animals are employed in the laboratory. In this review, we focus on six imaging modalities that are increasingly employed for small animal in vivo imaging: optical imaging (OI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), single-photon emission tomography (SPECT), ultrasound (US), and positron-emission tomography (PET). Each modality allows for the noninvasive tracking of cells and cell products in vivo. In addition, multimodality imaging, combining two or more of these techniques, has also been increasingly employed to overcome the limitations of each independent technique. After reviewing these available imaging modalities, we detail their experimental application, exemplified by the emerging field of regenerative medicine, referring to publications whose conclusions would otherwise be difficult to support without the availability of in vivo imaging.
尽管小动物活体实验已被广泛应用，但直到最近，才出现了允许对小动物进行非侵入性活体成像的技术。由于这些技术允许对同一实验个体进行长期的纵向追踪，因此它们的使用正在迅速改变实验室中小动物的应用方式。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了六种越来越多地用于小动物活体成像的成像方式：光学成像（OI）、磁共振成像（MRI）、计算机断层扫描（CT）、单光子发射断层扫描（SPECT）、超声（US）和正电子发射断层扫描（PET）。每种方式都允许对细胞和细胞产物进行非侵入性的活体追踪。此外，还越来越多地采用多模态成像，将两种或更多种技术结合起来，以克服每种独立技术的局限性。在回顾了这些可用的成像方式后，我们详细介绍了它们的实验应用，以再生医学这一新兴领域为例，并参考了如果没有活体成像，这些结论将难以得到支持的出版物。
