Aspect Imaging Announces LumiQuant™ for Tomographic Quantification of Luminescence using the ICON™ Compact High-Performance MRI Platform

Hardware and Software Solution co-developed with inviCRO Provides New Multi-Modality Insights into Luminescence-based In Vivo Imaging

TORONTO, ON, SHOHAM, Israel, and BOSTON, MA, April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Aspect Imaging, the leader in compact, high-performance permanent magnet systems, today announced LumiQuant™, its software and hardware solution for co-registering and measuring luminescence imaging images with the Bruker ICON™ compact high-performance MRI system. The LumiQuant solution enables researchers to generate 3D luminescence data co-registered with MRI, representing a novel path forward in multi-modal tomographic imaging. LumiQuant leverages a multi-modality cassette that allows a mouse to be imaged in an optical instrument and then moved and imaged in the Bruker ICON compact MRI without perturbation. LumiQuant is called as a routine from inviCRO's VivoQuant™ software. The image reconstruction and co-registration package uses a proprietary set of algorithms to create a three-dimensional distribution of luminescence signal. Luminescence, which is the most widely used pre-clinical in vivo imaging modality for assessing pre-clinical disease models, suffers from the physical constraints of the absorption and scattering of light in tissues. This absorption and scattering hinders the ability of luminescence systems to differentiate between luminescence signal in different organs and on the surface or signal deep within the tissue and therefore limits the researcher's ability to tell whether a luminescence-expressing tumor, for example, is on the surface, is deep in the organ, is a single tumor mass or possibly is the signal expressed from multiple lesions at different positions in the body. LumiQuant seeks to resolve this obstacle through enhanced insights and quantitation of 3D luminescence/MR imaging and disease phenotyping.

"Aspect Imaging's goal is to develop and commercialize MRI-based technologies to reduce the cost and complexity associated with conventional MR systems while enabling powerful results and new insights," says Uri Rapoport, Aspect Imaging's Founder and CEO. "LumiQuant can be an excellent tool for the thousands of luminescence imagers worldwide to extend the capabilities of a single modality to quickly gain anatomical reference - - through co-registration with compact MRI data from the Bruker ICON system - - and increased precision of their insights. The end goal is an increase in the characterization of their biomarkers of interest".

VivoQuant and LumiQuant software are optimized for use on the Bruker ICON compact MRI system and Aspect Imaging's novel compact, high-performance MRI is powering the Bruker ICON platform, the leading pre-clinical compact MRI system worldwide.

"VivoQuant is a leading software platform for pre-clinical imaging post-processing and quantification and we are thrilled to be working with Aspect Imaging to leverage the inherent tomographic benefits of compact MRI to enhance the insights possible with luminescence imaging", says Jack Hoppin, Ph.D., Co-founder and Managing Partner of inviCRO.  "With LumiQuant, there is now an exciting platform that enables 3D luminescence using co-registration with the ICON compact MRI system that has the potential to understand tumor cell proliferation outside of the limited subcutaneous xenograft environment".

Results from initial testing on LumiQuant will be presented by Matt Silva, Ph.D., Director, Imaging Research, InviCRO at the Aspect Imaging/Bruker ICON In Vivo Imaging Workshop, titled "Quantification of Pre-Clinical Cancer Phenotyping using Novel Compact High-Performance MRI" on Monday, April 8, 2013 at the Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC.

The LumiQuant solution will also be demonstrated at the American Association of Cancer Research's Annual Meeting 2013 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre in Washington, DC, April 6 - 12, 2013 at the Bruker ICON booth #702 in the Exhibit Hall.

About Aspect Imaging:

Aspect Imaging (www.aspectimaging.com) is the world's leader in the design and development of high-performance compact MRI imaging systems for pre-clinical, clinical and advanced industrial applications. In the clinical market, Aspect Imaging has multiple clinical programs underway including its system to provide highly efficient just-in-place compact MRI for imaging of the wrist. In the pre-clinical research market, Aspect supplies its M2™ magnet, gradients and handling systems to Bruker for use in its leading ICON™ compact MRI platform.  Due to its high-performance M2 permanent magnet and suite of related products, the ICON enables academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies to harness the power and insights of MRI but without the cost, complexity and technical burden of traditional MRI systems. Pre-clinically, Aspect's M2 system is also used for providing 3D MR-based Histology to compliment and direct pathology and histology-based analysis as well as providing the M2 platform to Mediso Medical Systems for use in its nanoScan® integrated PET/MRI and SPECT/MRI systems. Aspect Imaging's novel permanent magnets are also used in advanced industrial applications including rheology where its MicroFlow™ platform can operate inline on large-scale production lines for food processing, consumer products, biofuels and other applications providing real-time, non-invasive and quantitative read-outs for process and quality control.

About inviCRO

inviCRO (www.invicro.com) was founded with a mission of improving the value of imaging in drug discovery and development. inviCRO provides a full range of services and software solutions for pre-clinical imaging and novel translational work including contract research, custom data analysis, and software programs for image analysis, data management and high-throughput image processing. Their experienced team of 25+ scientists possesses unique capabilities in imaging physics, advanced biostatistics, multi-dimensional image processing, software development and an intimate understanding of imaging systems, agents and animal models. Managing and/or processing more than fifteen imaging studies per month across a broad range of applications, inviCRO has processed over 35,000 tomograms over the past three years. inviCRO's analysis and management software is used in over 100 imaging facilities worldwide and growing.

SOURCE Aspect Imaging