In vivo bioluminescent imaging (BLI) permits the visualization of engineered bioluminescence from living cells and tissues to provide a unique perspective toward the understanding of biological processes as they occur within the framework of an authentic in vivo environment. The toolbox of in vivo BLI includes an inventory of luciferase compounds capable of generating bioluminescent light signa...

Far-red fluorescent proteins are critical for in vivo imaging applications, but the relative importance of structure versus dynamics in generating large Stokes-shifted emission is unclear. The unusually red-shifted emission of TagRFP675, a derivative of mKate, has been attributed to the multiple hydrogen bonds with the chromophore N-acylimine carbonyl. We characterized TagRFP675 and point mutan...

The concept of a multispectral confocal microscope for in vivo imaging is introduced. To demonstrate the concept we modified a slit-scan fluorescence confocal microendoscope incorporating a fiber-optic catheter for in vivo imaging to record multispectral images. The system was designed to examine cellular structures during optical biopsy and to exploit the diagnostic information contained withi...

The ability to label and manipulate specific cell types is central to understanding the structure and function of neuronal circuits. Here, we have developed a simple, affordable strategy for labeling of genetically defined populations of neurons throughout a targeted brain region: Bulk Regional Viral Injection (BReVI). Our strategy involves a large volume adeno-associated virus (AAV) injection ...

The increased importance of in vivo diagnostics has posed new demands for imaging technologies. In that regard, there is a need for imaging molecules capable of expanding the applications of current state-of-the-art imaging in vivo diagnostics. To that end, there is a desire for new reporter molecules capable of providing strong signals, are non-toxic, and can be tailored to diagnose or monitor...

Negative autoregulation, where a transcription factor regulates its own expression by preventing transcription, is commonly used to suppress fluctuations in gene expression. Recent single molecule in vivo imaging has shown that it takes significant time for a transcription factor molecule to bind its chromosomal binding site. Given the slow association kinetics, transcription factor mediated fe...

Intravital imaging of brain and bone marrow cells in the skull with subcellular resolution has revolutionized neurobiology, immunology and hematology. However, the application of this powerful technology in studies of abdominal organs has long been impeded by organ motion caused by breathing and heartbeat. Here we describe for the first time a simple device designated 'microstage' that effectiv...

PURPOSE To develop a sensitivity-based parallel imaging reconstruction method to reconstruct iteratively both the coil sensitivities and MR image simultaneously based on their prior information. METHODS Parallel magnetic resonance imaging reconstruction problem can be formulated as a multichannel sampling problem where solutions are sought analytically. However, the channel functions given by...

Swept source/Fourier domain OCT is demonstrated for in vivo imaging of the rodent eye. Using commercial swept laser technology, we developed a prototype OCT imaging system for small animal ocular imaging operating in the 1050 nm wavelength range at an axial scan rate of 100 kHz with ~6 µm axial resolution. The high imaging speed enables volumetric imaging with high axial scan densities, measuri...

PURPOSE To develop and evaluate a cardiac phase-resolved myocardial T1 mapping sequence. METHODS The proposed method for temporally resolved parametric assessment of Z-magnetization recovery (TOPAZ) is based on contiguous fast low-angle shot imaging readout after magnetization inversion from the pulsed steady state. Thereby, segmented k-space data are acquired over multiple heartbeats, before...