Rush Irradiation and Multimodal Imaging Core (RIMIC)

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Precision X-Rad 320 X-Irradiator

The Rush Irradiation and Multimodal Imaging Core (RIMIC) facility provides X-irradiation of circular fields from 2.5 mm to 28 cm in diameter, or up to 20 x 20 cm square. Calibrated dose rates range from 0.35 to 5.8 Gy/min (35—580 rad/min), depending on adjustable beam energy (maximum 320 kVp), beam filtration, and distance between the target and the x-ray tube. Calibration for other dose rates is an available service. Targets can include cell cultures, laboratory rodents, chemical solutions, and instruments.

• 320 kVp maximum beam energy, continuously adjustable
• Automatic irradiation to preset dose (after calibration)
• Beam-hardening filtration: Thoraeus (Sn-Cu-Al), 0.3 mm Cu, 2.0 mm Al filters to modify the beam energy spectrum
• Environmental Chamber for control of O₂ concentration and temperature

X-ray images (digital “plain films”) can be taken over a wide range of x-ray energies to maximize contrast for various targets. Rodents can be imaged by both x-ray and by bioluminescence and the images overlaid digitally “in register” to monitor tumor growth (see below). Temperature and atmospheric oxygen content are actively controllable within a removable environmental chamber. An adjacent CO₂ cell cycle incubator with oxygen level control and a biosafety cabinet permit atmospheric and thermal preparation of cell cultures and their aseptic manipulation immediately before or after irradiations.

Instrumentation

Mouse Irradiation Accessories

• Mouse individual irradiation chambers (11-mouse capacity, 2 chambers, 95% D_max inside cyan contour)
• Anesthesia transparent chamber for bioluminescence imaging (5-mouse capacity)

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Mouse irradiation chamber

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X-Ray Field for mouse chamber

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Anesthesia chamber for X-ray, bioluminescence imaging

Opti-Max Digital Imaging Module

A cooled CCD camera records x-radiographs and/or bioluminescence images, overlaying them in register.

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Services 

• Calibrated irradiations: cell cultures, rodents, chemical solutions or instruments 
• Imaging: X-ray absorption and/or bioluminescence, with overlay in register if desired 
• Clonogenic assay: cell survival following irradiation and/or chemotherapeutic drug exposure (collaborative studies) 
• Tumor models: cancer cell monolayer, spheroid, and organoid culture models (collaborative studies)

Pricing

• Irradiations are priced per session and per beam-minute. (If new dose-rate calibrations are required, they will be billed according to complexity.)
• Imaging is priced per elapsed instrument time after verification of feasibility and depending on investigator participation.
  • Additional charges for x-ray exposures required by radiographs.
• Collaborative studies are priced per prior agreement with PI.