1. Safety Precautions and Operating Procedures in an (A)BSL-4 Laboratory: 4. Medical Imaging Procedures
- Author
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Linda Coe, Peter B. Jahrling, Christopher Bartos, Krisztina Janosko, Michael R. Holbrook, Russell Byrum, Jens H. Kuhn, Jiro Wada, Matthew G. Lackemeyer, Lauren Keith, Lisa E. Hensley, Jason Barr, Laura Bollinger, Margaret R. Lentz, Daniela Pusl, and Marisa St. Claire
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pathology ,General Chemical Engineering ,Operating procedures ,Guinea Pigs ,Computed tomography ,Single-photon emission computed tomography ,Animal Welfare ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Animal welfare ,medicine ,Medical imaging ,Animals ,Humans ,Anesthesia ,Medical physics ,Personal protective equipment ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,General Neuroscience ,Magnetic resonance imaging ,Containment of Biohazards ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Disease Models, Animal ,030104 developmental biology ,Positron emission tomography ,Positron-Emission Tomography ,Safety ,Infection ,Laboratories ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed ,business - Abstract
Medical imaging using animal models for human diseases has been utilized for decades; however, until recently, medical imaging of diseases induced by high-consequence pathogens has not been possible. In 2014, the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick opened an Animal Biosafety Level 4 (ABSL-4) facility to assess the clinical course and pathology of infectious diseases in experimentally infected animals. Multiple imaging modalities including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and single photon emission computed tomography are available to researchers for these evaluations. The focus of this article is to describe the workflow for safely obtaining a CT image of a live guinea pig in an ABSL-4 facility. These procedures include animal handling, anesthesia, and preparing and monitoring the animal until recovery from sedation. We will also discuss preparing the imaging equipment, performing quality checks, communication methods from "hot side" (containing pathogens) to "cold side," and moving the animal from the holding room to the imaging suite.
- Published
- 2016