Facility Overview

General Overview

The PET core is here to bolster and expand the small animal imaging efforts of UNMC. UNMC is already home to multiple clinical and pre-clinical imaging modalities for researchers. The addition of the small animal PET instrument will allow for live non-invasive biodistribution studies using radiotracers. If interested in using the core or simply learning more about the core, please contact us.

The core is run by core personnel who serve to help investigators best meet their research goals. Core personnel do give priority to the work of core users, but such personnel do not exclusively work for the core. Please be accommodating to the personnel as they do their best to communicate in a timely and accurate manner.

Safety is the top priority of the core, and we will not impinge on that to accommodate users. The core at-large must always conduct their work in accordance guidelines from UNMC EHS Radiation Safety, UNMC IACUC, and UNMC Comparative Medicine. Core users may contract their experimental work out to the core, or they may conduct independent research if they accomplish all the necessary training and safety steps outlined. There is a substantial amount of training and preparation required to use the core independently due to the safety measures required to use radioactive materials and concurrently handle animals. The core is always willing and open to train investigators who seek to become independent users, but please be understanding of all training and protocol development required.

If you have any questions or curiosities about the UNMC PET Imaging Core Facility, please contact us. Core personnel will be in touch within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays).

Equipment

Molecubes Beta Cube

• Molecubes Modular Benchtop Imaging - Beta Cube.
• The Beta Cube is a high-performance preclinical PET imager with submillimeter resolution.
• Currently only capable of imaging mice, but future equipment procurements by the core will allow for imaging of rats and other rodents.

TriFoil Triumph II

• Computed tomography (CT) for high resolution anatomical imaging.
• To be used in combination with PET scans for spatial analysis.
• Capable of doing SPECT-CT. If you seek to do a SPECT imaging based experiment, please contact Bioimaging Core Facility—Dr. R. Lee Mosley.

Anesthesia Machine

• Easy to use isoflurane vaporizer designated for laboratory and veterinary anesthesia delivery.

HIDEX SL 300

• Automated and programmable gamma counter for easy workflow for nuclear medicine and radioactivity measurements.
• Capable of measuring different an array of radioisotopes and handling samples of different size.

Radioprep Room

• A designated room for the preparation and synthesis of radiolabeled compounds. The workspace has substantial lead shielding for safe workflow.
• The room includes a dose calibrator, cell culture hood, and incubator. 

Location

Same room as Bioimaging Core Facility. In BCC Class 3 animal facility.