ACRF Cancer Imaging Facility

This grant honours the memory of the late Mr Kevin McCusker who made a generous donation to ACRF through his Will. According to his family, Mr McCusker was a quiet and unassuming man of strong principles and deep feelings and made this bequest because people he loved had died from cancer. Mr McCusker’s donation helped fund a state-of-the-art imaging facility to maximise Western Australia’s capacity to promote innovation in cancer research. The grant helped establish a world class integrated preclinical and clinical Cancer Imaging Facility in Perth. The equipment purchased with the grant included a state-of-the-art imaging suite and cutting edge optical imaging endomicroscopes. They significantly expanded cancer imaging capability in WA with the addition of microMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) multifunctional microPositron Emission Tomography (PET), Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) combined with X-ray Computed Tomography (PET/CT/SPECT) scanner, together with additional cutting-edge confocal fluorescent imaging equipment which will be further developed by CMCA. Imaging for cancer management and diagnosis in humans is fundamental. And equally in pre-clinical models of cancer, it’s a central part of cancer research. The small animal PET scanner (the first of its kind in WA) will enabled WAIMR to image cancer progression in animals like never before, enabling them to monitor for the first time tumour development, angiogenesis, metastasis and response to novel therapeutics in a range of well-developed preclinical animal models. As well as the WAIMR, the PET scanner will also be used by WA experts in their fields at the University of WA, QEII Medical Centre, Royal Perth Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, the Lions Eye Institute and Pathwest. Chief Investigators: Prof Peter Leedman, Prof Ruth Ganss, Prof YC Gary Lee, Adjunct Professor Richard Lake, Prof David Sampson, Prof Peter Klinken