MICA-BIL Core Facility

Preclinical imaging expertise and facilities

Molecular Imaging Center Antwerp - Bio-Imaging Lab


The Molecular Imaging Center Antwerp and Bio-Imaging Lab bring their small animal imaging expertise together in the MICA_BIL core facility

JOINT ACCESS TO​

State-of-the art Infrastructure for small bore ​Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Molecular Imaging and Computed Tomography​

PROVIDING INFORMATION RELATED TO​

  • MRI (9.4T and 7T) - structure, function, perfusion, vasculature, temperature,…​
  • PET/SPECT - molecular processes and therapeutic radioligands​
  • CT - structure and perfusion ​

RELEVANT FOR ​

  • In vivo small animal studies (highly translational, Non-invasive)​
  • Physiological mechanisms / disease mechanisms- biomarker identification/diagnosis, therapeutic efficacy focussed on but not limited to Neuro and Onco​
  • Research of (medical) devices and Material studies

The core facility is actively supported by the University of Antwerp to facilitate collaborative projects between different academic research groups.  The groups bring together key preclinical imaging expertise and facilities within the UAntwerp. The equipment makes it possible to make virtual sections through a living laboratory animal enabling to quantitatively monitor various anatomical, morphological, physiological and molecular processes over time in the same animal. In addition to the in‐vivo multi‐modal imaging systems, there is also access to a Bioluminescence/Fluorescence camera, animal monitoring, microsurgery and a radioprotected laboratory animal animalarium.

Objectives:

We are open to joint research collaborations within the University of Antwerp, national or international research institutes/universities and seek to provide services in PET/SPECT/MRI/MRS/BLI. These projects are typically consolidated within (double) PhD grants and any other type of mutual grants.

Collaborations are initiated by sending an informal pre-inquiry, briefly describing the aim of the study, requested experiments, species, number of animals (if applicable) to bio-imaginglab@uantwerpen.be.

Upon positive evaluation of the pre-inquiry, a detailed application by completing the ONLINE FORM is requested.


Available Infrastructure:

  • 2 INVEON Siemens µPET/CT
  • 1 MEDISE PET/CT
  • VECTor SPECT/CT
  • On-site cyclotron and radiosynthesis
  • 2 Bruker 7T MRI
  • Bruker 9.4T MRI with cryo-coil