Open-source versatile 3D-print animal conditioning platform design for in-vivo preclinical brain imaging in awake mice and anesthetized mice and rats

Abstract

Proper animal conditioning is a key factor in the quality and success of preclinical neuroimaging applications. We introduce an open-source easy-to-modify multi-modal 3D printable design for rodent conditioning for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other imaging modalities. Our design can be used for brain imaging in anesthetized or awake mice and anesthetized rats. We show ease-of-use and reproducibility of subject conditioning with anatomical T2-weighted imaging for both mice and rats. We also demonstrate application of our design for awake fMRI in mice using both visual evoked potential and olfactory stimulation paradigms. In addition, we demonstrate that our proposed cradle design can be extended to multiple imaging modalities combining MRI, Positron emission tomography and X-ray computed tomography.