Ultrasound-guided left-ventricular catheterization: a novel method of whole mouse perfusion for microimaging.

We describe a novel technique to perform whole-body perfusion fixation in mice with specific relevance to micro-imaging. With the guidance of high-frequency ultrasound imaging, we were able to perfuse fixative and contrast agents via a catheter inserted into the left ventricle, and therefore preserved the integrity of the chest and abdominal cavity. In this preliminary study, our success rate over 15 animals was 73%. We demonstrate applications of this technique for magnetic resonance imaging and micro-CT, but we expect that this method can be generally applied to whole-body perfusions of other small animals in which the intact body is necessary.