Aage Kristian Olsen Alstrup, May 2017
Imaging techniques in small and large animals bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical research. As a clinical hospital department we have a large flow of patients in our scanners. This generates new ideas for clinical problems that can only be solved through preclinical and clinical studies. Our preclinical research is thus an important part of continually improving clinical services offered to patients. Often, our radiochemical department develops new tracers to be used for better diagnosis of patients. Such new tracers are first tested in rodents and pigs. The animal studies show the potential use of the tracers, the tracer kinetics and the body distribution. The results of the animal experiments are then used to design experiments on healthy volunteers and finally used in patients. In this way it has been possible to introduce new diagnostics tracers in clinical practice. Furthermore, we scan animal models to improve understanding of human physiology and diseases.