BACKGROUND:  MicroPET is a variation of the traditional PET scanner, except that it is used to image small animals (i.e. mouse, rat) rather than humans. It is often desirable to perform quantitative microPET experiments, which requires a blood time activity curve. This curve is constructed from serial blood samples taken during a scan period. Although this typically would not be an issue in humans, small animals do pose a problem since they have small blood vessels, low blood volume, and a fast metabolism. As a result, the techniques used to sample blood in humans are not been easily applied to small animals. While a few microscale blood samplers have been developed, none have been used to reliably obtain blood samples from small animals such as mice.

INNOVATION:  UCLA scientists have developed a high-speed, nanoscale blood sampling system suitable for small animals, including mice and rats. The nanoscale blood sampling system is also used to conduct quantitative microPET experiments. The computer-controlled device can reliably withdraw nanoliter-scale samples from mice, compared to only a microliter-scale for current technologies. The small blood sample volume collection taken from an animal has minimal impact on the animal's physiology. Furthermore, PET analytes can be consistently detected despite the small sample sizes.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS 

• Monitor biological function and quantify blood samples during microPET experiments with small animals
• Study transgenic mouse models of human disease

ADVANTAGES

• Nanoliter-scale blood samples are automatically taken from small animals without user intervention and minimizes radiation exposure during microPET experiments
• High sampling rate of two samples/second (faster rate than current technologies will allow)
• Overall physiology of the animal is expected to remain stable given the small sample volume

DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:  Inventors are currently working to optimize sampling schedule and to make the controlling system more user-friendly.

Related Papers (Selected)

• "An Integrated Microfluidic Blood Sampler fro Determination of Blood Input Function in Quantitative Mouse microPET Studies." Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record. IEEE 2005. [more]

Reference: UCLA Case No. 2005-659

PCT Application: US06/040276