ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the requirements for ethics approval, appropriate animal handling and care during experimentation, and selecting an animal model. The use of small animal models in basic and preclinical sciences constitutes an integral part of testing new pharmaceutical agents prior to commercial translation to clinical practice. Whole-body small animal imaging is a particularly elegant and cost-effective experimental platform for the timely validation and commercialization of novel agents from the bench to the bedside. One of the major advantages of small animal imaging, which is steadily being appreciated, is its compliance with the "Three Rs": Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. The field of preclinical imaging, therapy and its applications is a rapidly growing area of active research. Imaging and therapy in preclinical medical research has rapidly developed into necessary experimental tools for medical research. In the future, small animal imaging and therapy will continue to develop new techniques, multimodality equipment, and automated image processing to ensure accurate detection of disease.
