SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS

In collaboration with a Swiss laboratory, we developed this cage, equipped with an activity wheel to measure the spontaneous and voluntary activity of an individual within a group research team’s desire being to maintain social ties.

The animals are identified with our TAM transponders. The built-in card reader in the wheel reads the animal’s chip as it goes into the wheel and operates it. The software records its activity and its identification number.

Free and unconstrained, these measures do not induce stress to the animal.

Many activity parameters according to environmental and/or chemical factors are recorded:

• The number of entries in the wheel (without travel made)
• The pace of activity with the number of laps completed
• Accelerations
• The direction of travel (clockwise, counterclockwise)
• The distance traveled in both directions
• Speed
• The total time spent in the wheel

These paradigms are particularly useful for:

• The study of the rhythms of activity and their deregulations,
• The study of circadian rhythms,
• The study of aging,
• Studies on anxiety and depression,
• The time screening of all development-related models (pre- and postnatal
environments, inducible KO, lesions…)
• Pharmacological studies (measurements before and after treatment).

The activity wheel with an XXL cage, in addition to ensuring social cohesion, ensures the
maintaining and improving of the rodent’s physical condition with regular activity. It helps to
control body weight. It guarantees the welfare of animals and meets the research needs.

For large scale testing, activity systems are installed in racks of 12, or on benches. The devices
are networked through a cable connected to the computer via an interface box. The installation
and implementation are very simple and easy.

Software

Two integrated electronic units report:

1. The identification number on the TAM chip implanted in the animal.


2. Parameters measured during the animal’s travel and records them via ACTIVI-SOFT
software in an Excel file format:
• Visualization of the average activity of each wheel
• Registration of activity parameters (distance, speed, time spent on the wheel…)
• Selecting the number of wheels to record (one wheel, a group of wheels, or all wheels)
• Registration of activity parameters
• Programmable registration delay
• Pause recording if necessary
• Programming the lduration of the recording
• Recording the activity at regular intervals (configurable)
• Detailed summary by animal’s activity sequence in the wheel
• Compatible with Windows® 2000 and later, 1 GHz and 256 MB of memory minimum
configuration
• Up to 64 cages on a workstation equipped with Activi-Soft software
• Easy and intuitive