3D Biophotonic Imaging Software

A new three-dimensional (3D) software analysis system enables scientists to better visualize, monitor, and determine biologic processes in living animals noninvasively and in real-time.

The software, developed by Xenogen Corp. (Alameda, CA, USA), is called Living Image and was designed for Xenogen's IVIS imaging system 3D, but is also compatible with the company's IVIS imaging system 200. This new software provides more spatially accurate and quantitative data than the current software. It includes new tools that enable researchers to more precisely locate in 3D and quantify the signal strength of bioluminescent reporters (glowing tags that light up targeted biologic processes) in living animals.

The software includes a 3D analysis tool called DLIT, which the company claims is the first of its kind for determining the size, location, and brightness of the bioluminescent reporters and therefore creates a more spatially precise image. The first step in the DLIT process involves acquiring a laser-scanned structured light image, which the software processes to determine the surface shape (topography) of the animal. Second, a sequence of luminescent images is acquired through different light filters ranging in wavelength from 560-660 nm. Because the absorption of light in tissue is dependent on its wavelength, this spectrum helps spatially orient the location of the light source. Combined with the surface topography data, the software then analyzes and processes these images to determine the 3D location and shape of the bioluminescent reporter.

"Xenogen's new Living Image software 3D analysis package is a great addition to our portfolio because it improves upon the predictive quality of the data through enhanced localization of the light signal produced by our biophotonic imaging technology,” said Pamela R. Contag, Ph.D., president of Xenogen. "Using the new software, scientists can better pinpoint the location of tumors, as well as the effect of drugs on a tumor and the surrounding tissue.”

Xenogen holds exclusive patent rights to the fundamental technology for real-time in vivo biophotonic imaging. The company incorporated the bioluminescent gene that generates a firefly glow into the microorganisms it uses as biological tags.




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