Three universities in southern England are buying a single ultrasound machine—but not for scanning pregnant women. The device will image mice and rats instead, letting researchers track tumours, measure blood flow, and test new drugs without killing the animals to examine their tissues. Current methods for checking whether experimental therapies work in small animals rely on X-rays (which require radiation shielding), MRI (which needs bulky, expensive magnets), or post-mortem dissection. None allow repeated, real-time measurements in a living animal. This means researchers often need more animals than necessary, and can miss subtle changes over time. The new ultrasound system—harmless, portable, and capable of deep tissue imaging—solves that problem. If the platform succeeds, it will accelerate the development of new antibody drugs, bone-healing therapies, cardiovascular treatments, and liver disease diagnostics—all areas where the three institutions already have active programmes. The machine will sit inside an existing imaging facility used by more than 100 researchers, and will be offered to external groups as well. The direct impact is better, faster preclinical testing that uses fewer animals. The indirect impact is a smoother pipeline from fundamental biology to patient treatments, similar to how earlier ultrasound innovations transformed hospital diagnostics without ever making headlines.
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This is a bid for a new, cutting-edge ultrasound imaging system help accelerate research across three institutions in the South of England – the University of Southampton, the University of Portsmouth, and University Hospital Southampton. At our research institutions, we are trying to develop new treatments, technologies and therapies to benefit patients. Some examples of these include immunotherapies. For example, new antibody drugs, such as Arzerra and Gazyva, were developed as a direct result of research at the University of Southampton. These drugs have had big impacts in helping cancer patients survive for longer. We are continuing to develop new drugs, not just in cancer medicine, but also in bone, heart, liver, brain and eye disease, in all three institutions contributing to this bid. Our research, however, critically relies upon the testing of therapies in small animals, like mice and rats. To find out if a new technology is working, we use techniques like X-rays, molecular biology and fluorescence, but we think the current methods available to us are not optimal and may lead us to use more animals than we need to. We think we can solve this problem by acquiring a new ultrasound imaging device for animals. Similar to the ultrasound devices used in hospitals on patients, these devices allow the research to ‘see’ deeply into the body. Unlike X-rays, which are ionising and require protective equipment for staff, and MRI which requires large machines and creates strong magnetic fields, ultrasound is harmless and requires relatively simply instrumentation. Because we can use ultrasound easily in living animals without hurting them, it will allow us to measure the effectiveness of drugs – for example how quickly a tumour shrinks – without having to collect the tissues from the animals. The areas of research that the instrument will be used for include (but are not limited to): Measurement of tumour size in animals; Measurement of blood flow, for example in cancer, musculoskeletal science, regenerative medicine and healing; Guided injection, for example in cancer targeting and cardiovascular medicine; Confirmation of pregnancy; Measurements of tissue stiffness, for example to test for liver hardening; Determining success of drug delivery; Measuring a range of physiological functions, including cardiac function. At the University of Southampton, we already have a large imaging facility which has established methods for training researchers and allowing them access to research imaging machines. This centre involves technical and veterinary specialists who can also provide expert advice for researchers. We intend that this ultrasound machine will slot seamlessly into this facility, allowing our community of more than 100 researchers easy access to do better, more efficient research. We also want to make this open to the wider community beyond the University to maximise the benefit for all and to make most efficient use of the machine. Our bid aligns key research strengths and strategic priorities across the University of Southampton, with direct alignment to MRC funding and to national strategies to better translate biomedical discoveries to patients.
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