Ivis spectrum system combines advanced fluorescent and bioluminescent imaging to accelerate preclinical drug discovery and development
Caliper Life Sciences has unveiled the Xenogen Ivis Spectrum, the most flexible and advanced addition to the company's suite of in vivo imaging systems, at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Imaging (SMI) on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Described as the next generation of instrumentation in optical imaging, the Ivis Spectrum is the only in vivo optical imaging system that can perform high sensitivity bioluminescent imaging and advanced fluorescent imaging, including spectral unmixing, trans-illumination, and 3D tomographic capabilities.
The Ivis Spectrum continues Caliper's tradition of accelerating the drug discovery and development process and significantly reducing cost and time to market for new therapies.
With an optical switch to move from epi- (reflection or top illumination) to trans-illumination (bottom illumination), Ivis Spectrum maintains high throughput capability, while providing increased sensitivity in fluorescent imaging.
This dual illumination capability enables tomographic localisation of both shallow and deep tumors in 3D and reduces background interference.
Spectral unmixing, using discrete bandpass filters, reduces background autofluorescence and allows separation of multiple reporters.
Coupled with the ability to provide 3D images of fluorescent and bioluminescent reporters, Ivis Spectrum is the first system to deliver these innovative capabilities in one instrument.
"Caliper is committed to pioneering highly innovative and transformative technologies that meet the needs of the research and development community," said Kevin Hrusovsky, president and CEO of Caliper.
"The Ivis Spectrum is a translational tool that enables both superior fluorescent and bioluminescent capabilities and is designed to improve productivity and clinical relevancy through the entire continuum of drug discovery." The company's non-invasive imaging systems enable scientists to better visualise, track and understand biological processes in living animals, in real time, at a molecular level.
Illuminating biological processes allows real-time visual exploration and analysis of gene expression, cellular pathways, drug/target interactions and the mechanism of action of drugs.
With a full range of optical filters for imaging any probe/reporter in the visible to near-infrared part of the spectrum, and a flexible lens system that provides both high resolution (down to 20 microns) and high throughput with 25cm field of view, the new system is designed to enable researchers to more accurately pinpoint where and when a drug candidate has an effect on or is affected by a normal or disease process.
The Xenogen Ivis Spectrum, which will be manufactured in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, will be available in Q1 2007.
Caliper is currently taking orders for the product.
