VisualSonics gains exclusive, global rights to distribute Mauna Kea's high-res in vivo animal imager
APRIL 1, 2009--Under a new, exclusive distribution agreement, VisualSonics (Toronto, Ont., Canada) will market and sell Mauna Kea Technologies'(Paris, France) high-resolution in vivo imagingsystem to pre-clinical researchers worldwide. The system, CellvizioLAB, promises a new way to understand physiological phenomena at the cellular and sub-cellular levels in situ in animal subjects. It claims to enable, for the first time, the ability to easily capture, analyze and compare smooth-motion video sequences of a wide array of cellular level characteristics and events, in real-time, without disturbing the cells' natural environment.
"VisualSonics has a great track record in introducing ground-breaking imaging solutions to the animal imaging market and is thus an ideal partner to bring Cellvizio LAB to top researchers working to continue to unlock physiological discoveries that have a strong impact on science and medicine," said Mauna Kea president, CEO and founder Sacha Loiseau.
Mauna Kea reports that Cellvizio LAB is already being used by world-leading neuroscience research institutions in various applications including neurological research of the deep brain and peripheral nerves, especially in the research of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's--and that it offers a unique capability to couple in vivo and in situ observations of neuronal activity on freely moving animals with behavioral studies. The minimal invasiveness of Cellvizio LAB and its adaptability to longitudinal studies make it suitable for research fields such as cancer, stem cell and gene delivery research. As a new molecular imaging technique, Cellvizio LAB promises to help monitor the interactions and effects of new molecules and new potential drug vectors non-invasively. It can also be used as high-throughput screening technique for mutant line maintenance.
"With the Cellvizio system, we can offer researchers more in vivo imaging platforms: our existing family of high frequency ultrasound and now the Cellvizio optical microscopy" said Tom Little, CEO of VisualSonics. "The ability to see and monitor an animal's internal physiological processes at the cellular level helps researchers gain new understanding of the root causes of disease and disorders."
For more information see Mauna Kea Technologies' website. See also the website for VisualSonics.
Posted by Barbara G. Goode, [email protected], for BioOptics World.