The Animal Models and Imaging Facility (AMIF) has been established to accommodate the growing animal management needs of research laboratories and to provide state-of-the-art molecular imaging to West Virginia University researchers and their collaborators. Conveniently located within the OLAR Animal Facility in the WVU Health Sciences Center, the AMIF currently performs acute and longitudinal bioluminescence and fluorescence studies on mice using the
IVIS® Lumina Imaging System which provides highly sensitive imaging of fluorescent and/or bioluminescent reporters both
in vivo and
in vitro. This system allows researchers to perform real-time in vivo imaging to monitor and record cellular and genetic activity within a mouse using fluorescent and/or bioluminescent reporters. This service is available for both mice and rats.
AMIF also offers ultrasound imaging using the
Vevo 2100® Micro-Ultrasound System.The Vevo 2100 enables the visualization and quantification of small animal anatomical targets, hemodynamics and therapeutic interventions with resolution as low as 30 microns. Because it is non-invasive, longitudinal monitoring and quantification of phenotypes, therapeutic regimes can be monitored in the same animal over time.
The AMIF is a fee-for-service facility run by Sarah McLaughlin, a skilled technician who is available for consultation and assistance with experimental design and data interpretation.
Contact us to discuss availability
To take advantage of the services offered by AMIF, you must FIRST make sure your ACUC protocol is up-to-date. Sarah McLaughlin must be added to your ACUC protocol. If you will be using AMIF for imaging services, you must add an amendment for the in vivo. See the
Operations page for more information regarding ACUC protocol requirements as well as for Frequently Asked Questions.