Aspect Imaging's M2™ 3D MR-based Histology System Profiled at Leading Toxicologic Conference

Validation of novel system for high-throughput 3D imaging of toxicologic phenotypes to be presented in scientific workshop and poster at STP 2013 in Portland, OR

PORTLAND, OR, June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -  Aspect Imaging, the world leading developer of high-performance compact magnets, is having its M2™ 3D MR-based histology system for in vivo and ex vivo toxicological imaging featured in a scientific poster, in a major workshop and on the exhibit floor at the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) Annual Meeting 2013. The STP Annual Meeting 2013, a global meeting of pathology scientists, is being held in Portland, Oregon, June 16 -20, 2013.

Aspect Imaging's M2 3D MR-based histology system is a compact, high-performance MRI instrument for high-throughput in vivo and ex vivo imaging of pre-clinical samples. The M2 provides all of the benefits of MRI including high-resolution 3D images of anatomical morphology and quantitative information of disease progression and regression. The system and its results is featured in the "Practical Application of MRI Histology in Toxicologic Pathology" workshop, a scientific workshop presented by the International Academy of Toxicologic Pathology (IATP) on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm. The workshop will provide 16 cases of major organ system pathologies encountered in rodent toxicity and carcinogenicity studies with emphasis on how compact MRI imaging technology can serve as an important adjunct to conventional pathology evaluation.

"We are excited to have such a comprehensive presentation of scientific data across multiple disease models that shows validation of non-invasive 3D digital data sets for our MR-based histology system strongly correlated to conventional histology", says Uri Rapoport, Aspect Imaging's Founder and CEO. "With the M2, research labs can now leverage the power of 3D morphological imaging to compliment and guide their traditional histology and do so with a system that is affordable, easy to install, easy to operate by a technician with no imaging experience and with the benefit of high-resolution digital images".

A detailed study of the M2™ 3D MR-based Histology System - "3D MRI-Based Histology Using Compact, High-Resolution MRI" - is also being presented as a poster at the STP meeting. "3D MR-based histology of fixed tissue specimens is gaining recognition as a technique to provide complimentary information to conventional histological techniques, as numerous digital slices from any plane of the intact sample can be acquired in 3D, quantified and then followed-up by conventional histology", says Dr. Yael Schiffenbauer, the presenter and scientific lead on the research study. "This study investigated the capabilities of this new compact 3D MR-based histology platform as a complementary method in toxicology studies. The study validated mouse models of acute kidney injury (AKI) as quantified by in vivo MRI, ex vivo MR-based histology, and conventional histology and immunostaining. The high correlation between conventional histology and this novel platform shows the strong promise for using 3D MR-based histology to guide conventional histology in research and drug development toxicological settings".

The M2™ 3D MR-based histology system is being demonstrated in the commercial exhibition of the STP Annual Meeting, in Aspect Imaging's booth #110.  The scientific poster, "3D MRI-Based Histology Using Compact, High-Resolution MRI", Poster #12, will be presented in the "New Technologies" section of the STP Scientific Poster Sessions throughout the meeting in Exhibit Hall A at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.

About Aspect Imaging:

Aspect Imaging (www.aspectimaging.com) is the world's leader in the design and development of high-performance compact MR imaging and NMR 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. The system allows clinicians to harness the power and insights of MRI but without the cost, complexity and technical burden of traditional MRI systems. 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 quantify their research models quickly and reliably. Pre-clinically, Aspect's M2 system is also used for providing 3D MR-based Histology to complement 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.

SOURCE Aspect Imaging