Cat. No. LIC-9300-00

You don't need to be an instrumentation expert to get high-quality in vivo imaging data with the Pearl™ Imager. All aspects of the Pearl Imager are designed and optimized for animal imaging.
The Pearl Imager starts with dual channel near-infrared detection for excellent sensitivity and continues with design simplicity that minimizes user effort through one-button image acquisition.
Load a mouse in the unique imaging drawer, push the close button, and in 30 seconds you’ll have clear, multi-colour images that are properly exposed on the first attempt.

Features:
Near-Infrared Detection for the Highest Sensitivity:

• The Pearl Imager uses a new, proprietary CCD-based optical system specifically designed for in vivo imaging in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region where tissue autofluorescence and light scattering are low.
• Patented filtering design dramatically reduces noise.
• Signal detection is optimized for industry leading IRDye® near-infrared dyes.

Molar extinction coefficient characteristics of water, hemoglobin and oxygenated hemoglobin (400-1000 nm).
IRDye 800CW has ideal excitation/emission wavelengths for in vivo imaging.

• NIR laser illumination permits much deeper tissue penetration than white light. Smaller targets can be visualized at greater depths, allowing earlier tumor detection.
• Requires less than 30 seconds to capture white light, 700 nm, and 800 nm images. Speed minimizes animal stress and increases productivity.
• Dual channel detection in a single image acquisition.

Dual channel detection: In the 800 nm channel, IRDye 800CW 2-DG Optical Probe was used for tumor detection and is represented in pseudocolour. IRDye 680 BoneTag™ was used to visualize skeletal structures in the 700 nm channel (grayscale), aiding in anatomical localization of the tumor.

• Portable. Small footprint simplifies mobility and accomodates placement into any lab.
• Six logs (22 bits) of dynamic range available for each image: Up to 4 logs of usable dynamic range when imaging mice in the 800 nm channel, or up to 6 logs of dynamic range when imaging excised tumors or organs.

To illustrate the wide dynamic range of the detection system, a series of tubes containing increasing concentrations of IRDye 800CW (0-10 μM) was imaged. Signal represents the total fluorescence for a region of interest minus background fluorescence for the region.

Tumor screen 3 days after injection of IRDye 800CW EGF Optical Probe (green). The three tumors on the left are from control animals. Red signal is autofluorescence.

Easy, Convenient Operation

• Simple Pearl Cam Software for perfect images every time.
• Acquire images without saturated or underexposed pixels on the first attempt and with no user adjustments
  (full dynamic range)
• No need to choose filters, exposure settings, or imaging algorithms before imaging
• Motorized imaging drawer slides out for easy positioning of the mouse.
• Detachable imaging bed speeds transport from induction chamber. Imaging bed is temperature-controlled to maintain body temperature.

Pearl Imager with imaging drawer open (right) and imaging bed detached (left).

• Imaging bed locks onto inlet and outlet ports for gas anesthesia and a rotameter controls flow rate.
• Flow of anesthesia gas stops when the imaging drawer is detached to minimize researcher exposure.
  A charcoal filter removes isoflurane from the exhaust stream.
• Dual Laser Modules

Each laser module contains a 685 nm laser, a 785 nm laser, and an LED source that produces white light. Matched pairs of sources are sequentially turned on and off, and the CCD detector captures all three images in less than 30 seconds.

Truly Simple Pearl Cam Software

• Easy to learn. One button (drawer button) or one click (software) starts acquisition of a single set of images
  or time series.
• Eliminates the need to choose filters, exposure settings, or imaging algorithms before imaging.
• Acquires images without saturated or underexposed pixels on the first attempt and with no user adjustments
  (full dynamic range).
• Group selected images into a working set for comparison or to play a time series.
• Working sets of images can be displayed and normalized using the same look-up table for simultaneous
  visual comparisons (see the working set below).
• Automatic ROI tool requires only one click to mark a region of interest.

Regions of interest can be quickly identified by marking a background region (1) and clicking in the fluorescent region (2) with the ROI finder tool.

A working set of images can be created for image comparison. The same look-up table can be used to display each image, so a given fluorescent intensity looks the same on all images. A time series, such as the dye clearance study shown above, can be played sequentially to more clearly visualize changes.

Specifications: