PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Winkens, Thomas
AU  - Kuehnel, Christian
AU  - Freesmeyer, Martin
TI  - In-Ovo Imaging Using Ostrich Eggs - Replacement of Animal Studies?
DP  - 2020 May 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1122--1122
VI  - 61
IP  - supplement 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/supplement_1/1122.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/supplement_1/1122.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2020 May 01; 61
AB  - 1122Objectives: Preclinical nuclear medicine research usually is based on classic animal models using rats and mice. Prerequisites comprise adequate premises, small-animal scanners and personnel. In-ovo imaging has been described for small chicken eggs and as experiments are performed before hatching, this does not qualify as animal research. However, this approach still requires small-animal scanners. We report on the use of large ostrich eggs (Struthio camelus) on PET/CT used for routine clinical investigations. Methods: Ostrich eggs were artificially incubated until shortly before hatching. Different radiotracers were injected into a vessel of the chorion-allantois-membrane. Imaging was performed by native computed tomography (CT), contrast-enhanced CT and/or positron emission tomography/CT using a Biograph mCT40 (Siemens, Germany). Image artifacts were analyzed and the effect of immobilization using narcotic gases was assessed. Results: 25 fertilized and incubated eggs were investigated. In ovo imaging with conventional PET/CT was feasibleand provided images of good quality, including dynamic PET imaging. Biomagnetism (Neuromag MEG, Elekta, Stockholm, Sweden) was feasible in detecting heart actions and embryonal movement during exposure to narcotic gases. Conclusions: In-ovo imaging with ostrich eggs and routine clinical scanners may allow a broader application of this field of preclinical research, bypassing the need of costly dedicated equipment and reducing the number of animals needed for classic animal research. Heart rate and movement can be assessed using biomagnetism. Further experiments are warranted to refine this novel Approach.