Publications by authors named "Robert C Hawkes"

Accurate kinetic modelling of in vivo physiological function using positron emission tomography (PET) requires determination of the tracer time-activity curve in plasma, known as the arterial input function (AIF). The AIF is usually determined by invasive blood sampling methods, which are prohibitive in murine studies due to low total blood volumes. Extracting AIFs from PET images is also challenging due to large partial volume effects (PVE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Heart failure originating from myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Mouse models of ischaemia and reperfusion injury (I/R) are used to study the effects of novel treatment strategies targeting MI, however staging disease and treatment efficacy is a challenge. Damage and recovery can be assessed on the cellular, tissue or whole-organ scale but these are rarely measured in concert.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of death in the Western world. The similarity of the mouse heart to the human heart has made it an ideal model for testing novel therapeutic strategies. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gives excellent views of the heart noninvasively with clear anatomical detail, which can be used for accurate functional assessment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chronic heart failure, as a result of acute myocardial infarction, is a leading cause of death worldwide. Combining diagnostic imaging modalities may aid the direct assessment of experimental treatments targeting heart failure . Here we present preliminary data using the Cambridge combined FDG PET/MRI imaging system in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy may provide important clinical information in the acute stages of brain injury. For this to occur it must be ensured that intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring devices are safe to bring into the MR imaging suite. The authors tested a Codman MicroSensor ICP Transducer (Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF