Magalhães A C M, Correia P M M, Oliveira R G, Encarnação P M C C, Domingues I, Veloso J F C A, Silva A L M
Department of Physics, I3N, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Front Physiol. 2022 Jun 29;13:906110. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.906110. eCollection 2022.
Lately, the use of zebrafish has gained increased interest in the scientific community as an animal model in preclinical research. However, there is a lack of imaging tools that ensure animal welfare during acquisition procedures. The use of functional imaging techniques, like Positron Emission Tomography (PET), in zebrafish is limited since it requires the animal to be alive, representing a higher instrumentation complexity when compared to morphological imaging systems. In the present work, a new zebrafish enclosure was developed to acquire images while monitoring the animal's welfare through its heartbeat. The temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH range in a closed aquatic environment were tested to ensure that the conditions stay suitable for animal welfare during image acquisitions. The developed system, based on an enclosure with a bed and heartbeat sensors, was tested under controlled conditions in anesthetized fishes. Since the anesthetized zebrafish do not affect the water quality over time, there is no need to incorporate water circulation for the expected time of PET exams (about 30 min). The range of values obtained for the zebrafish heart rate was 88-127 bpm. The developed system has shown promising results regarding the zebrafish's heart rate while keeping the fish still during the long imaging exams. The zebrafish enclosure ensures the animal's well-being during the acquisition of images in different modalities (PET, Computer Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging), contributing substantially to the preclinical research.
最近，斑马鱼作为临床前研究中的一种动物模型，在科学界越来越受到关注。然而，在采集过程中缺乏能确保动物福利的成像工具。功能成像技术，如正电子发射断层扫描（PET），在斑马鱼中的应用受到限制，因为它要求动物处于活体状态，与形态成像系统相比，其仪器复杂性更高。在本研究中，开发了一种新的斑马鱼饲养箱，用于在监测动物心跳以确保其福利的同时采集图像。对封闭水生环境中的温度、溶解氧和pH范围进行了测试，以确保在图像采集过程中条件保持适合动物福利。所开发的系统基于一个带有床和心跳传感器的饲养箱，在麻醉鱼的受控条件下进行了测试。由于麻醉后的斑马鱼不会随时间影响水质，因此在PET检查的预期时间（约30分钟）内无需引入水循环。斑马鱼心率的取值范围为88 - 127次/分钟。所开发的系统在长时间成像检查期间使斑马鱼保持静止的同时，在斑马鱼心率方面显示出了有前景的结果。斑马鱼饲养箱在以不同模态（PET、计算机断层扫描、磁共振成像）采集图像期间确保了动物的健康，为临床前研究做出了重大贡献。
