Panorama Newsletter

Tecniplast are delighted to have been selected as the major equipment supplier by the University of Cambridge to equip their new state of the art biomedical research facility at the Anne McLaren Building in Cambridge.

The University’s main aim was to develop a facility with the highest level of animal and staff welfare, so they can consistently produce high quality scientific research, be efficient, and be cost effective. Another key criterion for the University of Cambridge was sustainability. Tecniplast met all of these requirements.

Keith Savill, Director at the University of Cambridge says:

“We selected Tecniplast as they were able to offer us an integrated solution that was tailormade to our requirements. They provided us with the latest innovations in housing, washing, automation and aquatics. Their integrated product range allowed us to have proven high throughput, ensuring efficient operations. This, along with their expertise in project delivery and aftersales care, made them the perfect partner”.

This building will be used to help further understanding of how diseases occur and in the development of new treatments for conditions such as cancer, dementia and diabetes. Tecniplast’s role covered 3 main product areas: IVC Cage Systems, Washing and Automation, and Aquatics.

The Anne McLaren building can hold up to 25,000 mouse IVC cages, supporting world leading researchers to develop medical breakthroughs to give hope to people around the world.

Tecniplast has over 70 years’ experience in developing housing for mice and as such, both our Greenline and Emerald Line IVCs, will provide ideal housing for the University of Cambridge’s rodent colonies. Supporting and maintaining the IVC cage environment, will be a range of air handling units: Skyflow and WiFlow, that will continually monitor and control the air within the housing system. It’s great to know that Tecniplast will be at the forefront of such a profound investment in UK scientific research and we believe that our products will play a key role in providing the very best environment for housing mice, maintaining their welfare and standardizing the science. Within the Anne McLaren research facility sits the latest in IVC Washing Automation: The Cosmos. This fully automated system takes used IVC cages; opens, empties, then washes all components, fills the clean cage bases with bedding and re-assembles the cage ready for use. Throughput is 300 complete cages per hour.

At Tecniplast, we recognise that automation plays a key role in ensuring scientific rigor. It improves quality control, assists health status management, controls contamination and allergen exposure and improves productivity. As a Centre of Excellence this is something the University of Cambridge cares passionately about. The facility also houses an Atlantis Evo rack washer, Clean bedding handling system, Waste bedding disposal and Downflow booth. All this washing and automation is supported by Realview software and hardware offering the Facility Manager remote communication with each item 24/7!

“We were delighted to work with the University of Cambridge on this fantastic project. The Anne McLaren Building is now fully operational with the very latest in technology; the Cosmos system. This cutting-edge automation represents the full integration capability that Tecniplast can provide. Robotics, washers, bedding handling and cages are not meant as individual technologies but work as a whole entity. Selecting Tecniplast allows customers to perform the full cage wash area process in one area”.
Scott Carnell, Product Specialist Manager, Tecniplast UK.

As a complete solution provider, Tecniplast will continue to support the University of Cambridge with a bespoke support package that covers all the Anne McLaren’s service needs.

Tecniplast are thrilled to have been part of supporting this vital project and to have been at the forefront of Biomedical Science.

We much look forward to continuing our partnership with the University of Cambridge.

Watch Keith Savill’s full interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHV3KtSrwZQ&t=46s

Cosmos, Integral Change Automation Technology:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai9biuSTU4g&t=20s

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION MANAGER – TECNIPLAST UK