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DVC® technology at the recent Aalas Conference
// October, 2017

DVC® technology at the recent Aalas Conference

During the recent Aalas conference has been presented an interesting Seminar titled: Innovative Frontiers in Automated Rodent Home Cage Behavioral Monitoring and Animal Welfare.

It was part of the category Imagine, Invent, Improve, Inspire: Innovations in Laboratory Animal Care which was the Aalas payoff this year too. DVC® with its features and related benefits for the user was under the lights during all the Seminars. The seminar was for technicians, managers, veterinarians and administration who wished to understand home cage monitoring and the tangible benefits of automated home cage monitoring for the animals, the science and the care staff.

The seminar showed particularly how:

  • continuous automated home cage monitoring allows data collection without causing disruption(s) to the animals.
  • The monitoring and analysis of movement and behaviors allows comparisons to traditional behavioral testing systems with a potential replacement end goal.
  • Automated home cage monitoring is an area of constant innovations and improvements to help achieve the 3 Rs (especially refinement).

The Seminar started with a little bit of history, describing different types of automated home cage monitoring systems that are in use, or being developed, and how they have been used in behavioral analysis.

The Seminar evaluated the needs, the concrete benefits, and the practical outcomes of continuous home cage monitoring for behavioral outcomes in the research community. The audience appreciated in particular an awareness of the degrees of improvement in animal welfare with use of these systems. Comparisons have been made of the quality of the automated scientific data generated when compared to traditional methods.

The Seminar indicated how the two primary methods of home cage monitoring are video capture and/or electromagnetic filed (EMF) perturbations and focused on the EMF perturbations (DVC®) as the newest emerging technology, but comparisons with use of video imaging have been demonstrated. The types of behavioral testing presented included:

  • anxiety-related behavior testing, cogitation and welfare outcomes;
  • analysis of male mouse aggression in association with environmental enrichment options;
  • monitoring of preference behaviors with different caging opportunities;
  • adverse clinical predictability based on movement patterns when using a neurodegenerative mouse model.

An interactive and dynamic  speakers panel discussion addressed how can these systems may affect the directions and the future of the behavioral research studies, as well as addressing the audience questions. Last but not least the 3Rs have been be emphasized throughout this successful seminar.

 

ABOUT THE TECNIPLAST DVC

DVC® - Digital Ventilated Cage is a revolutionary technology that introduces digital intelligence into the daily management of Vivarium. A sensor network monitors intra-cage conditions, which is essential for animal welfare. 

DVC® is equipped with seven modules that continuously monitor, detect and record data concerning bedding conditions, food and water levels, cage flooding (AWS), cage location, and animal activity in every cage. 24/7 digital data generation enables the establishment of the desired parameters to achieve optimal cage environmental conditions, improve workflow in the vivarium daily operations and reduce costs through better utilization of resources.

Click here to find out more about DVC® - Digital Ventilated Cage to turn your facility into a Digital Vivarium

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