Body Composition Analysis

Non-invasive identification of small animals' body composition such as free fluid, fat and lean mass

Time-Domain-Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance imaging (TD-NMR) is a powerful tool for the non-invasive quantification of solids and liquids in objects under study. Without anesthesia or other preparations, animals such as mice and rats can be tested for body composition of fat, free body fluids and lean tissue within a few minutes.
After a stimulated adjustment of nuclear particle spins within a high energetic magnetic field, specific patterns of relaxation times of spin rearrangements are recorded upon removal of the magnetic field. These relaxation patterns can be correlated to the density of body compounds, i.e. lean tissue, fat and free fluids, giving concrete values of their proportional composition. The NMR-whole-body composition analyzer allows non-invasive and reliable quantifications of whole-body components of small animals.