Facilities

The department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics owns a wide variety of research facilities. If you are interested in using one of our facilities for your research, please fill in the form at the bottom of the page.

3D-FICS

The department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics hosts two 3D fluorescence imaging cryomicrotome systems (3D-FICS), both uniquely capable of reconstructing volumes of whole organs or small animals with high spatial resolution (8-32 micrometer) while co-localizing the detailed structural information with fluorescent (bio)marker activity across a wide spectral range. By alternately sectioning and imaging, the system acquires 3D, high-resolution, large field of view, anatomical and multispectral molecular fluorescence image volumes from sequential images of the tissue block face. The 3D-FICS allows interrogation of deeper tissues where target-specific interactions can be determined precisely by sections. Such a system offers widespread use in pre-clinical studies involving multimodal molecular imaging co-registered with multispectral probe visualization for disease progression and pathology, early response to therapy, and receptor-targeted applications and probe development.

For more information, contact us at cryo@amsterdamumc.nl

3D rendering of heart vasculature

Distribution of injected fluorescent tracer in a rat brain

OCT systems
Preclinical MRI

The lab is equipped with a state-of-the-art 7T small animal cryogen free MR system (MR Solutions, Gilford, UK). MRI enables non-invasive, high-resolution anatomical imaging with excellent soft-tissue contrast and unlimited penetration depth. It is therefore suitable to longitudinally study a large range of animal models in the fields of oncology, cardiology, neurology and regenerative medicine. MRI not only sensitively detects various pathological changes in tissue structure, such as edema, fibrosis, calcification, but also enables characterization of a variety of physiological measures, such as diffusion, perfusion, flow and motion (e.g. cardiac function).

Two-photon microscopy

A Leica TCS SP8 multi-photon microscope is available, with a SpectraPhysics Deepsee Insight laser for multiphoton and OPO excitation (680-1300nm, tunable), a fixed 1040nm laser and a 488nm laser. Using the galvano and resonant scanner (up to 8000 Hz), fluorescent labeled compounds targeting specific (cellular) structures can be imaged with both high depth (up to 1mm) as well as high temporal resolution in the living animal. Furthermore, the dual laser set-up allows simultaneous excitation and imaging of multiple fluorescent labels, drastically reducing the scanning time and increasing readout possibilities.

Ultrasound and Photoacoustic imaging

A VEVO 3100 LAZR-X Photoacoustic Ultrasound system (FujiFilm VisualSonics, Amsterdam, NL) is available for use in mice and rats with automatic 3D motion capabilities. The system has several functionalities installed, such as Color Doppler, Power Doppler, Tissue Doppler, Contrast Imaging and ECG triggered measurements. Dedicated image analysis software is available to process the Ultrasound data. Finally, our LAZR-X system allows novel revolutionary photoacoustic imaging, which combines the rich contrast of optical excitation and deep penetration of ultrasound. This allows for example the quantification of tissue oxygenation by measuring the absorption of both oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin.