Towards in Vivo Visualization of Pancreatic Beta-Cells in the Mouse: Molecular Imaging at 16.4 T

Sven Gottschalk¹, Dvid Zsolt Balla¹, Rolf Pohmann¹, Jrn Engelmann¹

Despite of decade-long research, no method exists that could either accurately or non-invasively determine the pancreatic beta-cell mass in vivo. We present in vivo MRI of the mouse pancreas at ultra high fields (16.4T) and the first attempt to visualize pancreatic islets with a newly developed beta-cell specific contrast agent. Structures <100m and anatomical details of the pancreas were identified. However, the cellular architecture of the pancreas, i.e. the location or amount of islets of Langerhans remains difficult to assess. Using a novel targeted contrast agent in vivo, beta-cell containing islets of Langerhans were identified in an excised pancreas.