Bruker Opens New Preclinical Imaging Center of Excellence for the Americas

Bruker recently announced the official opening of a new Preclinical Imaging Center of Excellence for the Americas in Billerica, Massachusetts. The facility offers advanced development, demonstration and support facilities for Bruker’s industry-leading portfolio of preclinical imaging instrumentation and multimodal platforms.

In showcasing both the individual imaging technologies and the benefits gained from combining multimodal experiments, the Center will play a key role in promoting the successful application of complementary imaging information in preclinical research in oncology, cardiology, inflammation, musculoskeletal imaging and the neurosciences.

Opening symposium

Bruker customers participated in an opening symposium for the new center, with many New England research institutions and pharmaceutical companies present. Speakers from Bruker’s management were joined by Srinivasan Mukundan Jr., MD/PhD, Chief of Neuroradiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who highlighted the importance of cutting-edge technology innovation for preclinical imaging research, while adding translational perspectives from the clinic. The event allowed members of the preclinical imaging community to interact with the Bruker imaging instruments, all running live in the lab.

“I am really excited to see the establishment of a full-featured, preclinical imaging laboratory in the Boston area,” said Frederic Fahey, DSc, Director of Nuclear Medicine Physics at Boston Children's Hospital. “We look forward to the development of many new collaborations and innovations as a result of this endeavor by Bruker.”

The latest preclinical imaging technologies

The new Bruker Center of Excellence represents a significant global infrastructure expansion for all technical R&D, support and demonstration centers worldwide. Located at Bruker’s headquarters in Billerica, the new center features dedicated lab space for showcasing the latest preclinical imaging technologies and multimodal platforms, together with tissue culture and in vivo subject handling capabilities.

Utilizing Bruker’s preclinical instruments for demonstration and applications development in a single site, visiting customers and Bruker scientists will be able to offer unparalleled levels of support and training, and provide access to new combinations of imaging modalities. Multiple modalities such as optical imaging and X-ray, or PET and MRI enable researchers to acquire complementary image information, e.g. on morphology and function, which is vital in the further development of medical sciences and translational research.

Combining multi modalities in one location

“The Bruker Preclinical Imaging division is committed to providing cutting-edge tools and we are excited about our ability to combine multiple modalities in one lab to help facilitate new insights for the imaging research community,” commented Dr. Wulf Jung, President of Bruker BioSpin’s Preclinical Imaging division.

The new PCI Center provides access to MRI instruments including a 7 Tesla BioSpec® MRI system with a unique MRI CryoProbe™, and an ICON™ compact, benchtop MRI system. Micro computed X-ray tomography (µCT) is covered by several models, including the in vivo Skyscan™ 1176 and in vitro Skyscan 1272. The PCI lab also features four optical molecular imaging systems for fluorescence, luminescence, planar x-ray and planar radio-isotopic imaging experiments, with two in vivo Xtreme™ optical systems and two MS FX PRO™ optical imaging systems. The lab benefits from a new electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) system, and a minispec™ system for body composition analysis. A crucial component of employing multi-modality imaging in most research environments is having a comprehensive suite of imaging technologies that include reliable co-registration devices. Bruker’s multimodal animal beds enable flexible and versatile analyses of various animal models based on an easy and productive workflow. On the Bruker Billerica campus, several MALDI mass spectrometry imaging systems are accessible for in vitro small molecule, lipids or peptide/protein spectroscopic imaging. Additionally, a Bruker Albira II PET/SPECT/CT preclinical imaging system is located nearby at Boston Children’s Hospital, with access to PET and SPECT isotopes.