This Metabolic Monitoring System is ideal for measurement of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production in lab animals. It uses open circuit calorimetry technique. It is very flexible, the size of the animal is immaterial. The data can be analyzed by the statistical packages. The system comes with windows based software.
Up to eight animal cages can be monitored simultaneously. An animal is placed in the cage and the lid is lightly shut to provide a partial seal. Ambient air is pumped through the cage. The amount of air entering the cage is precisely measured by a mass flow meter (STP 0ºC and 760 mmHg), and is traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. Most of the exhaust air goes to the atmosphere. A small sample of the exhaust is monitored for O2 and CO2 content by zirconia sensors. These sensors are very accurate and maintenance free. Unlike electrochemical cells, zirconia cells provide higher accuracy and do not have to be replaced.
The system described above generates small positive pressures within the animal cages and is generally known as a positive pressure system. For some experiments, a negative pressure system is more appropriate. Both systems are offered.
O2 consumption and CO2 production are calculated on the basis of known gas fractions both at the input and the exhaust ports of the cage and with the amount of air flowing through the cage.
Parameters Measured
The following parameters are measured in the standard model: Oxygen consumption (mL/kg/hr), carbon dioxide production (mL/kg/hr), respiratory exchange ratio (CO2/VO2) and heat Kcal/hr).
Options
This Metabolic Monitor System can be used simultaneously with the Animal Activity Monitoring System, see pages G2 - G3, for ambulatory activity and a Treadmill for exercise. The modular construction of the products allows for monitoring one to four animals in the standard model. On special requests the systems can be expanded to eight animals.
The combination of the Metabolic Monitor and Activity Monitoring System permits measurement of metabolic rate and animal locomotor activity simultaneously, thus allowing correlation between activity and metabolic rate. The Activity Monitoring Systems measures both horizontal and vertical activity.
The combination of this Metabolic Monitor and the Animal Treadmill, see page G15, is useful for measuring Work (W) and fatigue points in conjunction with metabolic rate. The Treadmill is an animal exerciser with a shocker. Both the speed and the angle of inclination of the exerciser are user adjustable
This Metabolic Monitoring System can also be integrated with the Food and Liquid Consumption Monitor, see pages G6 - G7, to measure the correlation between food and liquid intake and metabolic rate.
Each Metabolic Monitoring System includes a metabolic monitoring system analyzer, O2 analyzer, CO2 analyzer, custom designed air tight animal test chamber and Win-2000/XP Based Software.