INDEC BioSystems FluorVivo Small Animal In Vivo Fluorescence Imaging System

Overview

The INDEC BioSystems FluorVivo Small Animal In Vivo Fluorescence Imaging System is a modular, high-sensitivity optical platform engineered for quantitative, non-invasive fluorescence detection in live murine models. It operates on the principle of excitation-emission spectroscopy—using tunable LED or laser light sources to selectively excite fluorophores (e.g., GFP, RFP, NIR dyes such as IRDye 800CW or Cy7) and capturing emitted photons via a cooled scientific CMOS sensor with high quantum efficiency (>75% at 600–800 nm). Unlike fixed-filter systems, FluorVivo employs a fully customizable spectral acquisition architecture, enabling user-defined excitation/emission bandpass selection across 400–900 nm. This supports longitudinal studies requiring multiplexed detection—such as simultaneous monitoring of tumor burden (via RFP-labeled cells) and immune cell infiltration (via GFP-tagged T cells)—without hardware reconfiguration. The system is optimized for low-background imaging through real-time spectral unmixing, minimizing autofluorescence interference from skin, fur, and digestive tissues—critical for achieving high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR > 25 dB) in deep-tissue NIR-I window (700–900 nm) applications.

Key Features

• Millisecond-scale exposure control (1 ms–60 s), enabling high-temporal-resolution dynamic imaging and video capture (up to 30 fps at full resolution)
• User-configurable fluorescence channels: single-channel (optimized for one fluorophore) or triple-channel (simultaneous GFP/RFP/NIR acquisition) configurations
• Real-time spectral unmixing algorithm embedded in FluorVivo software—mathematically separates overlapping emission spectra using reference spectra libraries, eliminating manual background subtraction
• Open-door imaging design: eliminates mandatory anesthesia for short-duration acquisitions; animals are manually restrained and imaged under ambient lighting conditions
• Integrated foot-switch trigger for hands-free image acquisition during manual animal positioning
• Cooling-stabilized sensor (−25°C) with <0.5 e⁻/pixel/sec dark current, ensuring reproducible quantitative intensity measurements across multi-day experiments
• Modular expansion capability: FluorVivo Mag interface enables seamless coupling to third-party stereo or epifluorescence microscopes for sub-millimeter cellular-resolution imaging

Sample Compatibility & Compliance

The FluorVivo system accommodates standard mouse and rat models (up to 50 g), including immunocompromised strains (e.g., NSG, nude), transgenic reporters (e.g., Rosa26-tdTomato), and xenografts. It supports both endogenous fluorescent protein expression and exogenous NIR dye administration (e.g., folate-Cy5.5, cRGD-IRDye 800CW). All hardware and software components comply with IEC 61000-6-3 (EMC emissions) and IEC 61000-6-2 (immunity) standards. The FluorVivo software v5.x includes audit trail logging, user access controls, and electronic signature support—fully compliant with FDA 21 CFR Part 11 requirements for regulated preclinical research environments operating under GLP or GMP-aligned workflows. Data export formats include TIFF (16-bit), CSV (ROI intensity/time-series), and DICOM-SR for integration into institutional PACS or ELN systems.

Software & Data Management

FluorVivo Imaging & Analysis Suite provides a unified interface for acquisition, processing, and quantification. Core modules include: (1) Live Preview with auto-exposure optimization; (2) Multi-channel spectral acquisition scheduler; (3) Pixel-wise spectral unmixing engine with built-in reference spectra for >30 common fluorophores; (4) Automated ROI detection using adaptive thresholding and morphological filtering; (5) Longitudinal study manager with animal ID tagging, time-point alignment, and group statistical overlay. Quantitative outputs include total flux (p/s/cm²/sr), average radiance (p/s/cm²/sr), and normalized target-to-background ratio (TBR). All processing parameters are saved as metadata within image headers (EXIF/XMP), ensuring full traceability. Export options support batch conversion to FAIR-compliant HDF5 containers for downstream analysis in Python (SciPy, scikit-image) or MATLAB.

Applications

• Oncology: Longitudinal tracking of orthotopic or metastatic tumor growth using luciferase- or fluorescent-protein-transduced cell lines
• Immunology: In vivo visualization of adoptively transferred CAR-T cells co-expressing GFP and PD-1-mCherry reporters
• Drug Development: Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic assessment of NIR-labeled therapeutics (e.g., antibody-drug conjugates) via real-time biodistribution mapping
• Surgical Guidance: Integration with FluorVivo Pathfinder for intraoperative fluorescence-guided resection of micrometastases (<2 mm) in orthotopic pancreatic or ovarian models
• Cell Biology: Subcellular dynamics monitoring via FluorVivo Mag-coupled confocal or light-sheet microscopy, enabling single-cell tracking in intact tissue microenvironments

FAQ

Does FluorVivo require anesthesia for all imaging sessions?
No—open-door operation allows brief, non-anesthetized imaging for acute assessments. For longer exposures (>5 s) or motion-sensitive protocols (e.g., respiratory-gated imaging), isoflurane anesthesia is recommended.
Can FluorVivo quantify absolute fluorophore concentration?
Not directly—it reports relative radiant efficiency (p/s/cm²/sr) calibrated against internal reference standards. Absolute quantification requires parallel in vitro calibration curves using homogenized tissue lysates.
Is spectral unmixing performed in real time during acquisition?
Yes—the unmixing algorithm processes raw frames on-the-fly using GPU-accelerated computation, with latency <100 ms per frame at 1024 × 1024 resolution.
What microscope brands are compatible with FluorVivo Mag?
Leica M205 FA, Zeiss Stemi 508, Olympus SZX16, and Nikon SMZ25—provided they support C-mount adapter integration and TTL-compatible illumination triggering.
How is data integrity maintained during multi-user lab deployment?
FluorVivo software enforces role-based permissions (Administrator, Technician, Analyst), logs all parameter changes with timestamps and user IDs, and encrypts stored images using AES-256.