Use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) in the morphological examination of rat and rabbit fetuses from embryo-fetal development studies.

Abstract Images of the fetal skeleton and soft tissues of the head can be acquired using micro-CT and MRI respectively. Preliminary work has shown that the image acquisition times of commercially available micro-CT and MRI instruments are now sufficiently short, whilst still providing adequate image resolution, to allow high quality imaging of fetuses from embryo-fetal development (EFD) studies . Bespoke fetus holders, which allow the imaging of multiple specimens in a single imaging “run”, have been used to increase throughput. Protocols have been devised that incorporate these technologies into routine rat and rabbit fetal examination regimes. It is intended to undertake evaluations of these protocols, using number of fetuses that replicate those that would be expected from normal EFD studies. Incorporation of these technologies is anticipated to allow all soft tissue and skeletal examination data to be collected on the same day, markedly reducing the time taken to provide data for evaluation.