Facilities | Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Research Cores
MicroCT Imaging
Facilities

µCT Imaging Facility at Stemmler Hall

µCT Scanners:

There are 4 µCT systems at Stemmler Hall: the Scanco Medical µCT 35, µCT 45 and the Scanco Medical vivaCT 40, vivaCT 80. All these µCT systems are used to examine diverse materials from bone samples to medical implants. Currently, the µCT 35 and µCT 45 are used to study the trabecular bone structure of tibiae, femora, and vertebrae harvested from rats and mice, whereas the vivaCT 40 and vivaCT 80 are used to scan rats in vivo under anesthesia, rat and mouse humeri, pellets, and medical devices.

Model	Scanco µCT 35	Scanco µCT 45	Scanco vivaCT 40	Scanco vivaCT 80
Use	ex vivo specimen	ex vivo specimen	in vivo animal	in vivo animal
X-ray Energy	45, 55, 70 kVP	45, 55, 70, 90 kVP	45, 55, 70 kVP	45, 55, 70 kVP
Max Scan Size	Ø37.9mm x 120mm	Ø50mm x 120mm	Ø38.9mm x 145mm	Ø80mm x 145mm
Max Sample Size	Ø75.8mm x 140mm	Ø90mm x 120mm	Ø80mm x 500mm	Ø90mm x 500mm
Best Image Voxel Size	3.5µm (Ø: 7mm)	3.0µm (Ø: 9mm)	10.5µm (Ø: 21.5mm)	10.4µm (Ø: 31.9mm)
Location	335A Stemmler Hall	335A Stemmler Hall	368C Stemmler Hall	368B Stemmler Hall

Anesthesia machines:

This facility is equipped with two rodent anesthesia machines (Supera Anesthesia, Clackamas, OR) for in vivo µCT imaging studies.

µCT Analysis Computers:

The "microCT Analysis (I)" and " microCT Analysis (II)" are located in 315 Stemmler Hall, designated for µCT imaging analysis on Scanco software.

The "Dragonfly Workstation" is located in 324 Stemmler Hall, designated for µCT imaging analysis on Dragonfly software.

All of them can be accessed either onsite or remotely. The use of these computers requires making reservations in advance via Google calendar. For calendar access, send a request to pcmd.microct@gmail.com

µCT Imaging Facility at the CMC VAMC/TMRC:

There are 2 µCT systems located at the Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center (TMRC) of the CMC VAMC: the Scanco Medical µCT 50 and the Scanco Medical vivaCT 75.

Model	Scanco µCT 50	Scanco vivaCT 75
Use	ex vivo specimen	in vivo animal
X-ray Energy	45, 55, 70, 90 kVP	45, 55, 70 kVP
Max Scan Size	Ø50mm x 120mm	Ø79.9mm x 145mm
Max Sample Size	Ø100mm x 160mm	Ø80mm x 500mm
Best Image Voxel Size	0.5µm	10µm
Location	TMRC	TMRC

High Resolution Peripheral QCT (HR-pQCT) Imaging Facility at CTRC:

The HR-pQCT (Scanco XtremeCT II) is located at the Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC), for in vivo imaging bone microarchitecture of patients’ distal radius and tibia with a voxel size down to 60 μm.

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