Ace Therapeutics provides preclinical imaging services for the non-invasive study of disease pathophysiology in the brain. We focus on small animal imaging to assess gross anatomical structures as well as changes in cellular and molecular structure and function to support biomarkers of relevant psychiatric disorders as well as therapy development.

Introduction of Functional Ultrasound (fUS) Imaging in Psychiatry

Reliable quantitative biomarkers are urgently needed to assess functional brain alterations in mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders, but current imaging methods measure drug effects via neurovascular coupling and face problems including poor sensitivity, drug-induced changes in whole brain perfusion and their effects on anesthesia. Functional ultrasonography (fUS) is a recently developed preclinical neuroimaging tool that relies on real-time, non-invasive and highly sensitive Doppler-based brain imaging. fUS technology provides ultrafast spatial and temporal resolution images that can be used for acute or chronic characterization of psychiatric disease models, efficacy in rodents and target engagement studies.

How fUS Works?

fUS relies on neuro-vascular coupling effects, where changes in neuronal activity trigger a local hemodynamic response, which can be used as an indirect readout of that activity. Functional ultrasound measures these blood volume changes in the cerebral microvasculature by detecting the ultrasound echoes of moving blood. Blood echoes can be separated from echoes from other brain tissue to obtain a temporal snapshot of the amount of moving blood in each voxel of the visual field.

Fig. 1 Principles of fUS imaging and state-of-the-art for rodent imaging. (Martinez de Paz JM, et al., 2021)

fUS Services

Ace Therapeutics provides ultrafast spatial and temporal resolution images of acute or chronic pharmacological manipulations in various animal models of psychiatric disorders via fUS. In addition, we are able to monitor whole-brain cerebral blood volume changes in animals in various behavioral states, such as at quiet rest, after whiskers or visual stimulation, and during food reinforcement manipulation tasks. We are committed to providing novel biomarkers and therapeutic options for mental disorders through fUS.

What Can We Help You Achieve in Psychiatry with fUS?

• Studying the complex relationship between brain activity and behavior in free-moving animals
• Decoding brain activity efficiently in real time
• Characterizing vascular damage and changes in brain structure and function in mental disorders
• Non-invasive whole-brain 3D mapping of task-induced regional activation and resting-state functional connectivity
• Monitoring the effects of drugs on perfusion and functional connectivity in the brains of awake mice
• Mapping dramatic changes in relative cerebral blood volume during occlusion and after reperfusion at high spatial resolution
• Mapping the fine dynamics of tissue reperfusion
• Investigating functional connectivity between regions associated with cue association fear networks
• Studying the neurodynamics of memory retrieval, applicable to the development of innovative therapies for affective disorders
• Mapping whole brain pathways associated with external events

Advantages

• Higher sampling rate and spatial resolution
• Full compatibility with awake and behaving animals
• Non-invasive study of disease pathophysiology in the brain

Ace Therapeutics is dedicated to supporting drug researchers in the development of potential anti-psychotic drugs through advanced imaging techniques. If you are interested in our functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging services, please feel free to make an inquiry. We look forward to working with you.

Reference

1. Martinez de Paz JM, Macé E. Functional ultrasound imaging: A useful tool for functional connectomics?. Neuroimage. 2021, 245:118722.