This Accelerating Rota-Rod apparatus is used to study the fatigue and coordination of up to 16 mice or rats. The system will automatically prompt the operator to load each animal by ID to a specific channel and then run the appropriate speed/shock profile on that animal. The operator must simply follow the color coded instructions on the video monitor to complete the testing for all animals in a minimum time. The researcher is relieved of the responsibility of keeping track of the animals, the experiment protocol for each animal and the recording of the performance of each animal.
The system can easily be converted from a mouse rod to a rat rod by using the rat adapter (70 mm rod). Each test chamber has its own motor drive. Shock is available to prevent interaction between animals. This system is capable of running identical protocols in all 16 channels; more than one researcher can use the system simultaneously.