Technical note: Multi-MATE, a high-throughput platform for automated image-guided small-animal irradiation

Area of Science:

• Preclinical radiation research
• Medical physics
• Small animal models

Background:

• Small animal irradiation is crucial for evaluating new therapies before human trials.
• Advanced techniques like image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in small animals mimic human treatments but are resource-intensive.
• Sophisticated small animal irradiation methods demand significant time, resources, and expertise, often posing practical limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Multiple Mouse Automated Treatment Environment (Multi-MATE), a high-throughput, high-precision platform.
• To automate and streamline image-guided irradiation for small animals, making advanced techniques more accessible.

Main Methods:

• Multi-MATE utilizes six parallel channels with individual mouse immobilization pods on transfer railings.
• An Arduino interface controls electromagnetic units for automated pod transfer between home and irradiation positions.
• Parallel CBCT scans for planning and sequential dose delivery are managed by the automated system.

Main Results:

• The platform achieved high positioning reproducibility, with average pod position accuracy of 0.17 ± 0.04 mm (superior-inferior) and 0.20 ± 0.04 mm (left-right).
• Image-guided dose delivery tasks demonstrated excellent reproducibility, with an average of 0.17 ± 0.06 mm (superior-inferior) and 0.19 ± 0.06 mm (left-right).

Conclusions:

• Multi-MATE is a novel automated platform designed to accelerate and automate image-guided small animal irradiation.
• The system minimizes human intervention, ensuring high setup reproducibility and accurate image-guided dose delivery.
• This automated solution significantly lowers barriers to implementing high-precision preclinical radiation research.