Fiber optic system

Briefly, thirteen C57BL/6 B6.SJL-CD45.1 mice (N=10 female and N=3 male; 12±1 months of age) were imaged using CMR. Animals were anesthetized with 1.5–2.5% isoflurane in oxygen at a rate of 1.0 L/min. Cutaneous ECG electrodes were placed on three legs for cardiac gating. Respiratory gating was performed with a respiratory sensor placed underneath the abdomen. Body temperature was monitored with a rectal thermometer and maintained with a customized heating pad. All vital signs including heart rate (527±38 beats per minute), respiratory rate (80±12 per minute) and body temperature (37±1 °C) were monitored with a fiber optic system (SA Instruments, Inc, Stony Brook, NY). All animal procedures were approved by our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and were in agreement with the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals (NIH Publication 85–23, revised 1996).

10 female Sprague-Dawley rats (~6 months; Harlan) were used in this study. Animals were anesthetized with 2.5% isoflurane in oxygen at a rate of 1.5 L/min. Cutaneous ECG electrodes were placed on three legs for cardiac gating. Respiratory gating was performed with a respiratory sensor placed underneath the abdomen. Body temperature was monitored with a rectal thermometer and maintained at 36±1 °C with a customized heating pad. All vital signs including heart rate (334±7 beats per minute), respiratory rate (32±2 per minute) and body temperature were monitored with a fiber optic system (SA Instruments, Inc, Stony Brook, NY). All animal procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Kentucky and were in agreement with the National Institute of Health’s guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals (NIH Publication 85–23, revised 1996).