Caliper Life Sciences introduces Quantum FX stand-alone microCT system for preclinical imaging

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALP), a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery, life sciences research and molecular diagnostics, today announced the Quantum FX, a stand-alone microCT system for preclinical imaging.  Introduced at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2010, the Quantum FX is a low dose, microCT system that provides researchers with a 3-dimensional anatomical view of disease activity, tumor development and therapeutic response over multiple time points during the course of a study.

Non-invasive imaging is critical to monitoring disease progression and therapeutic efficacy in preclinical drug development studies.  Caliper's IVIS imaging systems have earned recognition worldwide as enabling and innovative research tools for noninvasive preclinical research.  More than 850 IVIS systems are in use in drug discovery and life science research laboratories and over 1,400 peer-reviewed research articles attest to their value in a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas including cancer research, infectious disease, metabolic disease, neurology, cardiovascular disease, toxicology and other applications.  Quantum offers complementary 3-dimensional anatomical precision for current imaging applications, while also expanding Caliper's offering in areas like skeletal, vascular and respiratory disease.  

Traditional microCT systems use high doses of radiation, which limit the number of images that can be acquired without altering the animal's biological response.  Quantum FX uses ultra-fast, sensitive and low dosage CT technology from Rigaku Corporation – a world leader in X-ray technology with more than 8,000 systems installed in over 50 countries – to create high resolution 3D images with minimal X-ray exposure. With Quantum, multiple images can be taken at many steps in a time-course study with minimal impact on the animal.

"Caliper's preclinical IVIS imaging systems have played a significant role in translating experimental research into safe and effective drugs," said Kevin Hrusovsky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Caliper Life Sciences. "The Quantum FX expands our current portfolio of bioluminescent, fluorescent and X-ray imaging systems to include CT anatomical imaging. We are now able to expand our imaging offerings to additional research areas, helping scientists translate preclinical research into future clinical treatments."

Optical imaging and 2D X-ray methods using instruments like IVIS Lumina XR are routinely used in drug development. 3D tomography and the co-registration of multiple modalities are key steps in the evolution of pre-clinical imaging and the development of translational techniques for clinical use. The use of Quantum low-dose CT in conjunction with IVIS Spectrum can provide, for example, co-registered images of tumor development that reveal the early stages of disease development without impacting the biology of the animal.

SOURCE Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.