Academic and pharmaceutical researchers commonly use mice and small animals for investigations of genetics, cellular physiology, and of agents affecting bone or soft-tissue composition. Bone and tissue composition measurement using dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) densitometry eliminate the need for destructive chemical analysis - a time- and labor-consuming process that requires days or weeks to complete.
The Inalyzer (Medikors Inc.) provides bone mineral and body composition results from total body imaging in less than 30 seconds. Fast imaging allows faster access to important data and is safer on animals.
The InAlyzer basically allows automated, accurate and precise measurement of bone and tissue for small animals
weighing 10-500g (e.g., mice, lemmings, rat) including middle animals weighting 500g-3000g. InAlyzer uses a lower
x-ray energy than that used for peripheral densitometry in humans in order to achieve contrast in the low density bone.
Excellent precision of BMD and Fat makes InAlyzer ideal for longitudinal studies.
With an image area of 210mm x 315mm (bigger window, optional), the InAlyzer can image the entire body of most mice
including hamsters and Mongolian gerbils, as well as rabbits and guinea pigs.
The standard total body result focuses on the sub-cranial region improving sensitivity by excluding the inactive bone
and tissue of the cranium. There are manual regions of interest (ROIs) for selected areas within the total body image,
such as spine and femur. Researchers using the middle animal can image large portions of the animal and position
ROIs over their area of interest (i.e. entire leg, spine, abdomen) producing both bone and tissue results.