respiratory parameters from conscious freely moving animals: whole-body plethysmography

respiratory parameters from conscious freely moving animals:
whole-body plethysmography

respiratory parameters from conscious freely moving animals:
whole-body plethysmography

Whole-body plethysmography is used to measure respiratory parameters in conscious unrestrained subjects, including quantification of bronchoconstriction.

The standard plethysmograph sizes are for the study of mice, rats and guinea pigs. On request, larger plethysmographs can also be manufactured for other animals, such as rabbits, dogs, pigs, or primates.

principle

The plethysmograph has two chambers, each fitted with a pneumotachograph. The subject is placed in one of them (subject chamber) and the other remains empty (reference chamber).

The pressure change is measured by a differential pressure transducer with one port exposed to the subject chamber and the other to the reference chamber.

key features

• subject is unstressed - freely moving, and able to eat and drink
• no anesthetic so data are interpreted more easily
• experiments can be done on several subjects
• ideal for long-term measurements and chronic studies, up to 24 hours or more
• same subject may take part in several experiments and be its own control
• productivity gains: the wbp model can be used to rapidly screen a large number of subjects

standard setup (no options)

• whole-body plethysmograph
• dpt differential pressure transducer
• ventilation pump
• amplifier
• interface box
• acquisition card
• iox2 software with the RF (respiratory flow) analyzer module

parameters

• inspiratory time (TI)
• expiratory time (TE)
• peak inspiratory flow PIF)
• peak expiratory flow (PEF)
• tidal volume (TV)
• expired volume (EV)
• relaxation time ( RT) - time taken to expire a user-defined percentage of tidal volume
• minute volume (MV)
• breathing rate
• end-inspiratory pause (EIP)
• end-expiratory pause (EEP)
• enhanced pause (PENH) - dimensionless indicator of bronchoconstriction
• atmospheric pressure (Patm) - measured in the subject chamber.

NOTE: the flow-derived parameters obtained in whole-body plethysmography, such as tidal volume and expired volume, are not absolute values. They are used to assess relative changes over time.

options

• aerosol generation & delivery
• gas mixture exposure kit (hypoxia, hypercapnia… )
• whole-body plethyslography tower
• apnea detection
• temperatureHUMIDITY system
• cough/sneeze detection pack
• plethysmography + implant transmitters (telemetry)

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