emka TECHNOLOGIES' integrated hardware and software solutions for pulmonary studies using plethysmography models

standard plethysmography

standard plethysmography

Apart from the plethysmograph itself, the three different plethysmography models have many components in common.

This section contains components that are used in at least one of the standard setups (no options).

aerosol system

aerosol system

The nebulization system is used to create and deliver an aerosol to the animal. It can be controlled manually, using a controller device, or remotely, from iox2 software.

If you have purchased the nebulization system, you will receive additional components, some or all of the following (depending on your setup):

• nebulization head
• nebulization controllers
• cabling
• an adapter to allow fixation of the nebulization head to the plethysmograph

vital signs monitoring

vital signs monitoring

Monitoring of vital signs is used with anesthetized animals to monitor whether the animal is alive.

temperatureHUMIDITY system

temperatureHUMIDITY system

The temperatureHUMIDITY system is an option for whole-body plethysmography with freely moving animals. By taking into account the prevailing temperature and humidity conditions, it is possible to obtain a more reliable signal.

NOTE: the flow signal measured in whole-body plethysmographs with freely moving animals is not an absolute value.

The temperatureHUMIDITY system adds the following components to the standard setup:

• transducer
• temperatureHUMIDITY device
• cabling and connector

gas mixture exposure kit

gas mixture exposure kit

This is an option for the whole-body plethysmography for freely moving animals. It is used to deliver a specific gas mixture, in order to evaluate the effects of hypoxia, hyperoxia, hypercapnia etc.

The following are required in addition to the standard components:

• gas bottles (not supplied)
• mass flow controller for each gas
• flow regulator unit fitted with pressure regulator
• interface and cables

Acquisition is performed in iox software which also controls the mass flow controllers. From iox you can modify the composition of the gas mixture in real time.

dog wearing respiration belts and a tail cuff for acquiring respiration parameters and blood pressure, respectively

emkaBELT noninvasive telemetry

This is an option available with telemetry systems for the non-invasive measurement of lung volume.

plethysmography + implant telemetry

plethysmography + implant telemetry

We provide solutions for use with transmitter implants provided by Telemetry Research or by Data Sciences International.

The combination of plethysmography with implant telemetry opens up new possibilities, for example:

example 1 - direct resistance/compliance measurements in non-sedated animals

Normally, direct measurement of lung resistance and compliance measurements is only possible in anesthetized animals (see anesthetized plethysmography). However, with implant telemetry, this can be done in conscious restrained animals: by combining the blood pressure signal coming from an implant with flow signal a from a double-chamber plethysmograph in the head-out configuration.

example 2 - cardiorespiratory studies

In this case, pulmonary, blood pressure and ecg data are recorded simultaneously in a whole-body plethysmograph in which the animal has an implant measuring pressure and ecg.

Telemetry Research

A range of implantable transmitters manufactured by our partner Telemetry Research are available from emka TECHNOLOGIES for use in animals weighing at least 200g. For example, the TR43P implant acquires one pressure signal (e.g. pleural pressure) and temperature.

Original analog signals are reconstructed by the Telemetry Research receiver, from where they feed into the interface box used in the plethysmography setups.

DSI implants

It is possible to acquire the signals from DSI transmitter implants at the same time as signals from the plethysmograph.

To do so, you must install two software modules provided by emka TECHNOLOGIES and DSI (datalink-dsi and OpenART™ respectively). These modules allow iox to acquire signals from the two parallel acquisition chains effortlessly.

cough/sneeze detection pack

cough/sneeze detection pack

The cough/sneeze detection pack allows you to count cough events. It consists of:

• cough amplifier (mainframe with 1 power card and 1 to 4 cough modules)
• microphone (with integrated cable and BNC connector)
• calibrating device

customization services

customization services

emka TECHNOLOGIES offers tailor-made solutions for customers with specific needs.