The Bioseb Cold and Hot Plate Analgesia Meter is based on a metal plate which can be heated to 65°C and cooled to -3°C (with an ambient temperature between 20°C and 25°C). An electronic thermostat maintains the plate's temperature and a front panel digital thermometer displays the current plate temperature.

Operation Principle
The animal's pain sensitivity resulting from exposure to heat or cold is tested by placing the animal (mouse or rat) on the surface of the plate and starting a built-in timer. The operator stops the timer at the instant the animal lifts its paw from the plate, reacting to the discomfort. The front panel timer then displays the number of seconds it took the animal to react. Animal reaction time is a measurement of animal resistance to pain and is used to measure efficacy of analgesics.

The Bioseb Cold and Hot Plate is designed to be very simple to use at very fast to reach the set temperature (as example From ambient to 4°C, the most used threhold value, it takes less than 10 minutes, and from 4°C to 65°C it takes only 5 minutes) . Metrology wise, is accurate to less than 0,5°C (EEC metrology standard) and perfectly constant in the animal holder system. The preset température will not change for more than 0,1°C when a 400g rat is placed on the plate, and return to the set temperature is almost immediate.

The operator can start and stop the timer with the front panel start/stop switch or with the included footswitch, which allows "hands-free" operation.

The Cold Hot Plate Test Analgesia Meter can be complemented by a software allowing for temperature "ramps" and “loops”, predefined by the user. This feature is mainly used for studies with telemetry implants. In addition to displaying the reaction time, the Cold/Hot Plate Analgesia Meter is able to send the same information via USB interface to a computer.

!New! Publication

Bioseb team presents its respectful thanks to research team of Prof. Poisbeau (Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives de Strasbourg), who used the Cold and Hot Plate Test during its recent studies:

Differentiating Thermal Allodynia and Hyperalgesia Using Dynamic Hot and Cold Plate in Rodents, by I. Yalcin, A. Charlet, MJ. Freund-Mercier, M. Barrot and P. Poisbeau, in The Journal of Pain, 2009
(Click here to download this article as a PDF file)