Japan-based Shimadzu has announced the release of the LuminousQuester NI near-infrared imaging system. This system consists of a camera capable of simultaneously imaging near-infrared light and visible light and the dedicated software.

It is designed for nonclinical research applications that supports drug discovery research by combining a highly flexible camera that can be used in a wide range of environments and software with a high degree of usability.

At laboratories of research institutions, university hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry where fluorescent dyes are used for drug discovery reaserches, near-infrared imaging is needed for applications to observe and verify the distribution and time-lapse changes of drugs within the body.  

The LuminousQuester NI imaging system captures near-infrared light that is less interfered with indoor lighting and for this reason imaging can be performed in a wide range of testing environments. Imaging and measurement can be performed on the sample placed on a workbench as is, enabling hands-free observations of the drug behavior while changing conditions such as the quantity of reagent to inject and the amount of light to illuminate.