standard plethysmography

whole-body plethysmograph

plethysmograph for conscious freely moving animal

The plethysmograph is formed from two parts which come together to form two independent airtight chambers (the animal and reference chambers).

The animal chamber has a pneumotachograph, a port for connecting a dpt differential pressure transducer, a ventilation port and a syringe port (used to inject a known amount of air during calibration).

If you are running an experiments with an aerosol, the nebulizaton head connects to the aerosol inlet located at the top of the plethysmograph.

options: tower for swivel/tether system, aerosol or gas exposure, apnea, cough, sneeze, temperature and humidity compensation, combined cardiopulmonary experiments (DSI implant)

parameters: parameters: breathing rate, insp/exp time, volume and flow (relative changes from baseline), relaxation time, end-insp and end-exp pause, enhanced pause

double-chamber plethysmograph for rat

double-chamber plethysmograph for mouse and for rat

plethysmograph for conscious restrained animal

The plethysmograph is formed from acrylic blocks, which come together to form two independent airtight chambers (the head and body chambers).

Each chamber has a pneumotachograph, a port for connecting a dpt differential pressure transducer, a ventilation port and a syringe port (used to inject a known amount of air during calibration).

options: aerosol or gas exposure, additional conical restrainer for less stressed animal and easier manipulation, pulmonary pressure (DSI implant), resistance/compliance in conscious animals (DSI implant for pulmonary pressure with a head-out plethysmograph

parameters: all ventilatory parameters and specific airway resistance (SRaw), specific airway conductance (GGaw), mid-expiratory flow (EF50)

plethysmograph for sedated animal

plethysmograph for sedated animal

The plethysmograph is formed from acrylic blocks, which come together to form a single airtight chamber.

Several ports are provided for the passage of air/aerosol/anesthetic gas and for connecting tranducer catheters and a syringe (used to inject a known amount of air during calibration).

The rear face contains a pneumotachograph.

options: aerosol exposure/control, vital signs monitoring

parameters: ventilatory parameters and end-expiratory work (EEW), lung resistance, dynamic compliance, developed pleural pressure, mid-expiratory flow (EF50)

tower

wbp tower

This is an option for the whole-body plethysmographs for rats and guinea pigs (not mice). It provides the possibility to simultaneously study pulmonary and cardiovascular function .

The aerosol inlet block of these plethysmographs is interchangeable with a tower. The plethysmograph can therefore be used in one of two configurations: tower-on or tower-off.

• simultaneous measurement of non-pulmonary parameters such as blood pressure, blood flow, ecg, eeg…
• blood sampling and/or drug injections

The elevated position of the swivel ensures that fluid lines and/or wires used in the tether do not get tangled up as the animal moves around.

Notes:

• nebulization is not possible in the tower-on configuration.
• switching between the two configurations takes less than 30 seconds

dpt differential pressure transducer

dpt differential pressure transducer

dpt differential pressure transducer with a range of 0 – 2.5 cm H₂O (0-1.8 mmHg , 0-0.25 kPa). The ports must only be exposed to gases (not liquids).

dpt is used in the different plethysmography models: whole-body, double-chamber and anesthetized.

ppt differential pressure transducer

ppt differential pressure transducer

ppt differential pressure transducer is used in different setups.

The ppt transducer has a range of 0 – 70 cm H₂ (0-1.8 mmHg). One port is for gases only, while the is for gases or liquids.

ventilation pump

ventilation pump

The ventilation pump, also called bias-flow pump, draws air out of the plethysmograph chamber(s).

• prevents any build-up of CO₂ and humidity inside the animal chamber
• maintains a constant airflow that does not interact with the animal’s breathing pattern
• prevents obstruction of the pneumotachographs by aerosol particles during nebulization

The vent4 ventilation pump has four flow regulators, each of which can draw air at a rate of up to 1 liter per minute (LPM) (it is specifically designed for mice studies).

The ventilation pump is supplied with four sets of ventilation tubing. Each set has a flexible tube with a particle filter (protecting the pump against deposits and dust), a desiccator column (protecting the pump from humidity) and 1-way stopcock (for calibration).

MiniVent ventilator

MiniVent ventilator

Used to mechanically ventilate animals under sedation.

The MiniVent from Harvard Apparatus is a ventilator specially adapted to small animals such as mice (small stroke volume, minimal dead space, etc). The ventilating operation does not use valves; it is based on the simultaneous rotatory and back-and-forth movement of the plunger, which, when co-ordinated with the system of channels allows for precise control of inspiration and expiration.

amplifier

amplifier

The amplifier mainframe houses the different amplifier modules along with the power supply module.

The same ampilfier model is used in the different types of setups : whole-body, double-chamber and anesthetized. The amplifier modules amplify signals from flow transducers and pressure transducer.

Please note: some third-party transducer must be used with their own amplifier unit.

interface box

interface box

The interface box is used in the different plethysmography models: whole-body, double-chamber and anesthetized.

All signals are carried to the interface box. From there, they are conveyed to the acquisition card via one cable.

Connectors:

• BNC connectors on front panel (13, 32 or 64 depending on the model)
• connector leading to the acquisition card
• TTL outputs connector, used for controlling external devices, such as a nebulizationCONTROLLER

acquisition card

acquisition card

The acquisition card fitted in the PC performs analog-to-digital conversion for data acquisition in iox2 software.

iox2 software

iox2 software

iox2 is emka TECHNOLOGIES' software for acquiring, analyzing and storing data.

Several analyzers are available as add-on modules

• RF (respiratory flow) - analyzer for plethysmography setups with freely moving animals
• RC (resistance compliance)- analyzer for plethysmography setups with anesthetized/sedated animals
• DCRF (double chamber respiratory flow) - analyzer for plethysmography setups with conscious restrained animals