This is a proposal for funds for purchase of a Skyscan 1172 ex-vivo microComputed Tomography system to support multi-disciplinary funded research at the adjacent campuses of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (UMDNJ/RWJMS) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in Piscataway/New Brunswick. The number of investigators engaged in bone and biomaterials research has greatly increased in recent years. Techniques for clinical x-ray computed tomography (CT) have been adapted for similar imaging of smaller objects by microCT, making it possible to study the important micro-architecture of small animal models of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, cancer metastasis, genetic modifications affecting bone, ectopic mineralization, and implanted biomaterials. A group of 14 funded faculty from the UMDNJ/RWJMS, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, and Rutgers University are identified as major initial users of the ex-vivo microCT. The instrument will be a shared resource in space in the School of Pharmacy, Busch Campus of Rutgers, Piscataway. The Universities will support service contract costs and 30% of the facility manager's salary. In addition, they Universities are committed to the long-range development of a Small Animal Imaging Core Facility, which will include this instrument. The SkyScan 1172 system, the second generation instrument from this company, consists of a desktop Cone-Beam scanner with microfocus x-ray source capable of 5 micron resolution with a pixel size of 1 to 30 microns; Dell dual 3.6 Ghz Pentium computers, reconstruction software for fan-beam or cone-beam back-projection. Image-processing software may be used on any Windows-based campus computer for standard 2D and 3D for bone morphometric analysis and animation. Relevance: The non-destructive imaging and accurate quantification by microCT allows the specimen to be used for subsequent histomorphometry, providing a more complete characterization than otherwise possible. Acquisition of this equipment will enable our institutions to engage in biomedical research highly relevant to pathophysiological processes and animal models of human diseases. ? ? ?
