Lack of authentic atrial fibrillation in commonly used murine atrial fibrillation models.

The mouse is a useful preclinical species for evaluating disease etiology due to the availability of a wide variety of genetically modified strains and the ability to perform disease-modifying manipulations. In order to establish an atrial filtration (AF) model in our laboratory, we profiled several commonly used murine AF models. We initially evaluated a pharmacological model of acute carbachol (CCh) treatment plus atrial burst pacing in C57BL/6 mice.

Inversion with early photons.

Optical tomography using early photons can improve resolution and reduce the ill-posed nature of the inversion problem. In this work we use 360 degrees projection experimental data to investigate the inversion performance of three commonly used numerical inversion methods: the random algebraic reconstruction technique (rART), singular value decomposition (SVD), and the conjugate-gradient-type method LSQR. Results are contrasted to each other and the effects of different photon propagation models are also investigated.

Time-resolved imaging of optical coefficients through murine chest cavities.

As small animal optical imaging and tomography are gaining popularity for interrogating functional and molecular events in vivo, it becomes increasingly necessary to gain knowledge of the optical properties of the species investigated to better understand and describe photon propagation through their tissues. To achieve characterization of the spatial variation of average optical properties through murine chest cavities, time- and spatially resolved measurements of femto-second laser pulse transmission are performed through mice using a high-speed gated image intensifier. Application of time-resolved diffusion theory for finite slab geometry is first confirmed on phantoms and then applied to in vivo measurements for spatially resolving and quantifying mouse optical properties.

Effects of background fluorescence in fluorescence molecular tomography.

Recent advances in optical imaging systems and systemically administered fluorescent probes have significantly improved the ways by which we can visualize proteomics in vivo. A key component in the design of fluorescent probes is a favorable biodistribution, i.e.

Complete-angle projection diffuse optical tomography by use of early photons.

We present the first, to our knowledge, experimental images of complex-shaped phantoms embedded in diffuse media by use of optical tomography. Imaging is based on a complete-angle projection tomographic technique that utilizes transmitted early photons. Results are contrasted with measurements obtained at later gates as well as pseudocontinuous-wave data.

Progress towards two-dimensional biomedical imaging with THz spectroscopy.

Terahertz spectroscopy represents a frontier in the field of biomedical imaging. It is possible to image complex objects that are opaque to visible and infrared light. In this paper, we have used THz imaging to reveal the structure inside a sunflower seed.