The Biomaterials for Medical Imaging (BIM) Laboratory offers a complete platform for preclinical imaging of small animals (mainly mice), as well as a range of related services, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray computed tomography and positron emission tomography (PET). The team has fifteen (15) years of experience in advising on planning, design and carrying out preclinical imaging studies, serving the research community at Laval University, CR-CHUQ-UL, industrial and institutional partners. The platform is actively involved in the training of staff and graduate students in small animal imaging. The BIM laboratory has developed unique expertise in the studies of implants and injections for regenerative medicine, xenograft tumors in oncological research, and biodistribution analyzes in nanomedicine. The platform offers accommodation of animals for longitudinal studies. An ancillary infrastructure integrated into the platform, as well as an execution and training service, facilitates image and data analysis, as well as surgical and radiolabeling experiments.
Small Animal Imaging (MRI, CT, PET)
Services
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A small animal MRI scanner operating at clinical magnetic field strength, reproducing the contrast effects generated in clinical imaging; enables structural, functional, and molecular MRI imaging in vivo and ex vivo.
Read morePersonnel Training
Advice on planning small animal imaging studies; training of highly qualified personnel (graduate students, postdocs, research professionals, researchers) in operating the platform’s equipment.
Read morePositron Emission Tomography (PET)
A state-of-the-art device providing high-resolution and high-sensitivity metabolic images in the mouse model.
Read moreX-ray Computed Tomography (microCT)
A CT scanner generating high-resolution three-dimensional radiological (X-ray) images for anatomical and morphological imaging in vivo and ex vivo.
Read morePricing
Several factors influence the price of a series of scans: discussions and development time linked to the needs and selection of parameters, animal preparation time, acquisition time per scan, monitoring frequency, etc. Please contact the platform to present your imaging project and get a quick estimate. Following this first estimate, a second meeting makes it possible to refine the details of the protocol, the roles and responsibilities of the platform and of the client (e.g.: support in drafting the ethics protocol, handling and preparation of animals, necessity interventional and decision-making presence during scans, image analysis procedures); a quote for service offer will be produced. The platform has a policy of charging 50% of the costs of a study before it begins, based on the quotation. Generally, an extension to the protocol requires an additional quotation.