NEW HAVEN - Carestream Molecular Imaging, a division of Carestream Health, Inc., announced commercial availability of a new digital system for fluorescent multispectral optical molecular imaging, enabling life science researchers to study molecular abnormalities that are the origin of disease at a very early stage. The KODAK In-Vivo Multispectral Imaging System FX, now available worldwide, is designed to precisely locate and monitor changes in molecular activity of specific cells or organs-long before morphological changes can be detected-expediting the development of effective therapeutics for disease treatment.

In vivo optical molecular imaging allows non-invasive measurement of biological processes within a living organism. A key tenet of this technology is fluorescence, the process in which molecules (within a living organism in the case of in vivo imaging) absorb light, transition from a ground state to an "excited" state, and then emit light of a longer wavelength. Fluorescent imaging techniques can be used to study the cell cycle, signal pathways, gene expressions, and other processes integral to the understanding of disease and therapeutics.

The KODAK In-Vivo Multispectral FX System's unique multispectral tuning of excitation light greatly enhances image sensitivity, allowing for the identification and separation of multiple optical (e.g., fluorescent) biological marker signals in subjects such as small animals, while removing background noise (autofluorescence). Sophisticated software, native to the system, automatically generates and analyzes a series of images taken at different wavelengths with spatially co-registered x-ray and white light images for improved localization of biomarkers in vivo. Further, the system's multimodal capabilities include bioluminescence and radioisotopic signal detection, giving researchers a wide range of options for precisely identifying biomarkers of interest in small animals.
"The full release of this system incorporates several years of development work and extensive customer feedback received through our advanced technology placement program," said Shahram Hejazi, PhD, President, Carestream Molecular Imaging. "It is the only instrument currently available to provide multispectral fluorescence, luminescence, digital x-ray and radioisotopic imaging capabilities for in vivo imaging. We strongly believe these versatile, powerful capabilities will help facilitate important medical research in the years to come."

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