The Fuji/Visualsonics Vevo 3100 is a state-of-the-art high-resolution ultrasound imaging machine used to perform ultrasounds on small animals.  The scanner has high temporal and spatial resolution; current imaging probes utilize frequencies from 13-55 MHz.

Vevo Lab allows users to analyze their data at their own PC and offers advanced tools to measure and characterize indicators of cardiovascular disease progression.

Vevo Vasc is a vascular strain analysis specifically for studying vascular diseases.  It provides both qualitative and quantitative tools to evaluate early signs of vascular disease.  It is particularly useful for the analysis of models with aneurysms, vascular grafts or atherosclerosis.

An ECG monitor, contained within the animal warming pad, allows one to monitor heart rate, respiration, and body temperature. The Rail System allows for micro manipulation of the transducer, as well as the ability to perform 3D/4D imaging. An isoflurane vaporizer with an induction chamber allows appropriate delivery of anesthetic agent so as to maintain an appropriate heart rate throughout the ultrasound imaging session.

The links below will allow you to create a customer account so that you can download the Vevo Lab software onto your computer.  After creating an account, you will have access to a plethora of journal articles, webinars, and JoVE videos that can guide you on using the machine and software analysis programs.

https://www.visualsonics.com/registration

After registering, follow the link below to download the VevoLab software.

https://www.visualsonics.com/resource/vevo-lab-software

Location

The small animal ultrasound core is located within the Vascular Medicine Institute, Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh on the 10th floor of the Biomedical Science Tower West, Room 1003. We are now able to perform scans in the VA hospital animal facility, as well. After consultation with the Core Sonographer/Manager, the core instrumentation can be moved to animal housing facilities for repetitive survival imaging.

How to Schedule Services

Investigators will set up a consultation meeting with the sonographer to discuss the research plans in detail and the use of ultrasound for your research and to determine a time line for completion of your study. If you would like to use our services, please follow the link below and review/complete the Ultrasound Request Form. Please submit the completed form to brm182@pitt.edu. After receipt, the consultation meeting will be scheduled between the investigator’s team and the Core Sonographer to review your imaging needs. To view the availability for the machine, please follow the link below.  Please note reservations cannot be made until an initial meeting has been completed.

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=cvivisualsonics%40gmail.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York

There are three general categories of fee-for-services. 1) The investigative team can utilize the services of sonographer to acquire images from the study animals. 2) After demonstrated competency in the appropriate use of the instrument, the investigator can ‘rent’ use of the Vevo 3100 and acquire images themselves. 3) The sonographer can analyze data (acquired by either the sonographer or the investigator’s team members), or train the investigator’s team members in instrument usage or data analysis. Investigators or their team members can perform analysis of their own data for free by downloading analytic programs from FujiVisualsonics and arranging to sign out the license dongle from the sonography core.

The Fee categories are listed below:

Institutional Animal Care and Use

All procedures are performed in accordance with guidelines set forth by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.  At the initial planning meeting a text suitable for inclusion into your IACUC protocol can be provided.

Publications/Abstracts that involved the Core

We ask that users please update the Core on publications and presentations that have utilized the services of the core.

Yang X, Zhang M, Zimmerman R, Wang Q, Wei A, Zhu G, Bedja D, Jiang H, Shiva S, Scott I, O’Rourke B, Kass D, Paolocci N, Feng N. Myocardial BDNF regulates cardiac bioenergetics through the transcription factor Ying Yang I. Biorxiv preprint. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.19.427213. Co-first author and Co-corresponding author.

Durgin BG, Wood KC, Hahn SA, McMahon B, Baust JJ, Straub AC. Smooth muscle cell CYB5R3 preserves cardiac and vascular function under chronic hypoxic stress. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2022 Jan;162:72-80. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2021.09.005. Epub 2021 Sep 15. PMID: 34536439; PMCID: PMC8766905.

Satoh T, Wang L, Espinosa-Diez C, Wang B, Hahn SA, Noda K, Rochon ER, Dent MR, Levine AR, Baust JJ, Wyman S, Wu YL, Triantafyllou GA, Tang Y, Reynolds M, Shiva S, Hilaire CS, Gomez D, Goncharov DA, Goncharova EA, Chan SY, Straub AC, Lai YC, McTiernan CF, Gladwin MT. Metabolic Syndrome Mediates ROS-miR-193b-NFYA-Dependent Downregulation of Soluble Guanylate Cyclase and Contributes to Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Circulation. 2021 Aug 24;144(8):615-637. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.053889. Epub 2021 Jun 23. PMID: 34157861; PMCID: PMC8384699.

Culley MK, Zhao J, Tai YY, Tang Y, Perk D, Negi V, Yu Q, Woodcock CC, Handen A, Speyer G, Kim S, Lai YC, Satoh T, Watson AM, Aaraj YA, Sembrat J, Rojas M, Goncharov D, Goncharova EA, Khan OF, Anderson DG, Dahlman JE, Gurkar AU, Lafyatis R, Fayyaz AU, Redfield MM, Gladwin MT, Rabinovitch M, Gu M, Bertero T, Chan SY. Frataxin deficiency promotes endothelial senescence in pulmonary hypertension. J Clin Invest. 2021 Jun 1;131(11):e136459. doi: 10.1172/JCI136459. PMID: 33905372; PMCID: PMC8159699.

Rutledge CA, Chiba T, Redding K, Dezfulian C, Sims-Lucas S, Kaufman BA. A novel ultrasound-guided mouse model of sudden cardiac arrest. PLoS One. 2020 Dec 4;15(12):e0237292. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237292. PMID: 33275630; PMCID: PMC7717537.

Schmidt HM, Wood KC, Lewis SE, Hahn SA, Williams XM, McMahon B, Baust JJ, Yuan S, Bachman TN, Wang Y, Oh JY, Ghosh S, Ofori-Acquah SF, Lebensburger JD, Patel RP, Du J, Vitturi DA, Kelley EE, Straub AC. Xanthine Oxidase Drives Hemolysis and Vascular Malfunction in Sickle Cell Disease. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021 Feb;41(2):769-782. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.120.315081. Epub 2020 Dec 3. PMID: 33267657; PMCID: PMC8185582.

Zhang M, Yang X, Zimmerman RJ, Wang Q, Ross MA, Granger JM, Luczak ED, Bedja D, Jiang H, Feng N. CaMKII exacerbates heart failure progression by activating class I HDACs. J Mol Cell Cardio. 2020 Sep 22; 149:73-81. PMID: 32971072.  PMCID: PMC7736490 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2020.09.007

Rutledge C, Cater G, McMahon B, Guo L, Nouraie SM, Wu Y, Villanueva F, Kaufman BA. Commercial 4-dimensional echocardiography for murine heart volumetric evaluation after myocardial infarction. Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2020 Mar 12;18(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s12947-020-00191-5. PMID: 32164714; PMCID: PMC7068892.

Thapa D, Xie B, Zhang M, Stoner MW, Manning JR, Huckestein BR, Edmunds LR, Mullett SJ, McTiernan CF, Wendell SG, Jurczak MJ, Scott I. Adropin treatment restores cardiac glucose oxidation in pre-diabetic obese mice. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2019 Apr;129:174-178. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2019.02.012. Epub 2019 Feb 26. PMID: 30822408; PMCID: PMC6486841.

Manning JR, Thapa D, Zhang M, Stoner MW, Traba J, McTiernan CF, Corey C, Shiva S, Sack MN, Scott I. (2019) Cardiac-specific deletion of GCN5L1 restricts recovery from ischemia-reperfusion injury. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 129:69-78. PMID: 30776374. PMCID: PMC6486843. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2019.02.009.