Infrared Actimeter

Presentation

The BIOSEB Infrared (IR) Actimeter allows the study of spontaneous locomotor activity, rearings and optionally hole-board test parameters for exploration in rodents. A reliable system for easy and rapid drug screening and phenotype characterisation in both day and night lighting conditions.

Operating principle

The system is basically composed by a 2 dimensional (X and Y axes) square frame, a frame support and a control unit. Each frame counts with 16 x 16 infrared beams for optimal subject detection.
The system is completely modular: each frame may be used for evaluation of general activity (one or several animals), locomotor and stereotyped movements or rearings or exploration (nose-spoke detection in the hole-board option). The infrared photocell system can be set with up to 15 levels of sensitivity in order to adapt the frames to the typology of the animal (rats, mice). It can also be set to ignore the beams that are obstructed by objects (e.g. the walls/corners of the home cage).

Key features

Our Infra Red beams ACTIMETER shows some unique features as:
• Minimum maintenance required
• Minimum lighting conditions required
• Interchangeable frames can be used without distinction for either REAR, ACT or POKING modes
• Can be used without any computer (independent control units)

The frames can be controlled by the independent control units LE8825 or directly through the optional SEDACOM computer software.
The new SEDACOM 2.0 version provides an easy and convenient way to visualize and export the data on a computer for further analysis.
Optionally, the ACTITRACK software option may be used to analyse animal trajectories (distance, speed, permanence time in selected zones) and then provide additional complementary data to those obtained using the control units.

Parameters Measured

• Fast/Slow activity; i.e. movements with displacement (control unit)
• Fast/Slow stereotypies; i.e. movements without displacement (control unit)
• Fast/Slow rearings (control unit)
• Fast/Slow nose-spoke (control unit)
• Analysis of animal tracking: distance covered, speed, rearings, permanence time in selected zones, etc. (Actitrack)
• Intervals of inactivity (Actitrack)
• Time in zone (Actitrack)
• Distance travelled (Actitrack)
• Rearing behaviour events and duration (Actitrack)

You will find more details on the LE8811 Infra Red Actimeter system in the .pdf file enclosed

LE8810 Actimeter includes the following items

• 2 x squared frames LE8816 with 22x22cm of internal space, each including 16 IR beam cells on each side (x ans y axis)
• 1 LE8818 to support the 2 frames
• 1 electronic data logger and control unit (LE8825) allowing the monitoring of 1 or 2 of the above frames. The large lcd display allows to set up the protocols (test duration, sampling time of data acquisition, animal activity threshold …), and to read the results of the activity, either “global”, surface or rearing, slow and fast movements, stereotypic moves, number of rearings…. A last set up allows using the LE8810 as a “hole board”.
• It is worth to remember that each individual sensors frame can be set as a “surface (x,y) actimeter”, or as a “rearing actimeter”. Thus allowing one LE8810 system to monitor 1 animal in the 3 dimensions (x,y,z) or 2 animals in (x,y) dimensions.

Domains of application:

• Evaluation of animal’s basal activity and its evolution with time
• Activity response to novelty or anxiogenic environment
• Activity response to pharmacological treatment, lesion or genetic modification
• Drug screening
• Phenotyping
• Parkinson disease
• Huntington disease
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Options

• LE8825: Data Logger (up to 200 hours memory, RS232 comm).
• LE8814: Transparent arena for 1 subject (4 walls for LE 8815), 440 x 440 mm (Open Field).
• LE8813: Transparent arena for 1 subject (4 walls for LE 8816), 210 x 210 mm (Open Field).
• LE8821: Transparent arena for 2 subjects (4 walls + divider for LE 8815), needs ActiTrack software.
• LE8823: Transparent arena for 2 subjects (4 walls + divider for LE 8816), needs ActiTrack software.
• LE8820: Hole-board accessory - Nose-Poke Base for LE 8815 Frame (16 holes, 2.4 diam., 1 cm depth).
• ACTITRACK Software for up to 32 frames (ie up to 64 animals) via the RS232 port of a PC


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