Automated Home-Cage Monitoring

Automated home cage monitoring (AHCM) is another way of ensuring refinement in the handling of laboratory animals. Non-invasive, animal-friendly and stress-free methods of monitoring contribute to improved animal welfare on the one hand and have a positive effect on research on the other. Standardised and uniform data can thus be obtained, ensuring reproducibility of results. AHCM systems can be used to automatically measure and evaluate a wide range of parameters, such as movement, social interaction, feed and water consumption, body temperature and learning behaviour, without the experimenter having to touch or manipulate the animal in any way. Currently, they are mainly used in preclinical pharmaceutical and behavioural studies. Another advantage, besides the standardisability and the animal-friendly handling of the AHCM compared to common standard tests in behavioural research, such as the Open Field Test or the Elavated Plus Maze, is a continuous monitoring over a longer period of time, in which even the smallest changes in the behavioural pattern of the experimental animals are recorded.¹

There are many different AHCM systems on the market. The following section provides a brief overview of the most common types of AHCM.²

OWS is used to study the rodent's memory, flexibility and learning behaviour. In three openings, through which food, either in solid (pelllets) or liquid form, can be offered, the activity of an individual animal is measured by means of infrared rays. The test animal is guided to the desired operant wall by light or sound. A reward is only given if the animal visits the desired opening. Chora Feeder by AM Microsystems would be an example of a commercial OWS.³

The IntelliCage System is used to study learning behaviour and memory. Such a cage has four computer-controlled Operant Conditioning Corners (OCC). Up to 16 animals fit into one IntelliCage system. Each rodent is identifiable by a personal RFID transponder via antennas in each OCC. An OCC can only be entered by one mouse at a time. Inside the OCC are two walls for operant conditioning, which are positioned at 90 degrees to each other. Each of these walls has three LED lights and an opening that can be opened or closed by computer control, giving access to a water bottle. Infrared light is used to monitor this opening. Air blasts can also be delivered to each OCC to influence drinking behaviour.⁴

Computerised Visual Systems consist of an infrared camera and adaptive software coupled to it. This system can be used in both light and darkness. With their help, behaviour such as feeding, movement and grooming, as well as deviations thereof, can be observed.⁵

AMS are used to record movement activity. There are sensors whose measuring electrodes are placed under the cage surface and systems that work on the basis of infrared rays that act as sensors in a wheel to measure movement. In order to be able to measure the activity of several animals and distinguish them from each other, there is the Actual-HCA (Home Cage Analyser) system from Actual Analytics, in which the animals are marked with a transponder.⁶

• Actual-HCA (Home Cage Analyzer) from Actual Analytics
• Chora Feeder from AM Microsystems and the Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia
• Colony Rack from PhenoSys
• DVC (Digital Ventilated Cage) from Tecniplast
• IntelliCage from TSE Systems
• PhenoTyper from Noldus Information Technology
• UID Mouse Matrix home cage monitoring from Animalab

Actual-HCA (Home Cage Analyzer) - Actual Analytics

Actual-HCA allows laboratory rodents to be monitored 24/7 for locomotor activity, behaviour and body temperature. Since all animals in the cage are marked with an RFID transponder, group housing is made possible. Infrared light allows video recordings to be made during the day and at night. The Actual-HCA can be integrated into any existing cage system. Examples of applications would be studies on phenotyping, social interaction, circadian rhythms and various medications. Everything else can be found on the homepage.

References

Baran SW, Bratcher N, Dennis J, Gaburro S, Karlsson EM, Maguire S, Makidon P, Noldus LPJJ, Potier Y, Rosati G, Ruiter M, Schaevitz L, Sweeney P, LaFollette MR. Emerging Role of Translational Digital Biomarkers Within Home Cage Monitoring Technologies in Preclinical Drug Discovery and Development. Front Behav Neurosci. 2022 Feb 14;15:758274. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.758274. PMID: 35242017; PMCID: PMC8885444.

Wotton JM, Peterson E, Flenniken AM, Bains RS, Veeraragavan S, Bower LR, Bubier JA, Parisien M, Bezginov A, Haselimashhadi H, Mason J, Moore MA, Stewart ME, Clary DA, Delbarre DJ, Anderson LC, D'Souza A, Goodwin LO, Harrison ME, Huang Z, Mckay M, Qu D, Santos L, Srinivasan S, Urban R, Vukobradovic I, Ward CS, Willett AM, Braun RE, Brown SDM, Dickinson ME, Heaney JD, Kumar V, Lloyd KCK, Mallon AM, McKerlie C, Murray SA, Nutter LMJ, Parkinson H, Seavitt JR, Wells S, Samaco RC, Chesler EJ, Smedley D, Diatchenko L, Baumbauer KM, Young EE, Bonin RP, Mandillo S, White JK; International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium. Identifying genetic determinants of inflammatory pain in mice using a large-scale gene-targeted screen. Pain. 2022 Jun 1;163(6):1139-1157. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002481. Epub 2021 Sep 13. PMID: 35552317; PMCID: PMC9100450.

Wilcox AG, Bains RS, Williams D, Joynson E, Vizor L, Oliver PL, Maywood ES, Hastings MH, Banks G, Nolan PM. Zfhx3-mediated genetic ablation of the SCN abolishes light entrainable circadian activity while sparing food anticipatory activity. iScience. 2021 Sep 16;24(10):103142. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103142. PMID: 34632336; PMCID: PMC8487057.

Chora Feeder - AM Microsystems and the Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia

As mentioned above, Chora Feeder is an Operant Wall System (OWS). This system is controlled by a Phenopy software and another software based on Python. Chora Feeder is used in behavioural and learning behaviour studies. The stimuli that can be used, in the form of light, sound and reward, can be selected at will. Visit the homepage for more information on Chora Feeder.

References

Balzani E, Falappa M, Balci F et al. An approach to monitoring home-cage behavior in mice that facilitates data sharing. Nat Protoc 13, 1331–1347 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2018.031

Colony Rack - PhenoSys

The Colony Rack system offers the possibility to observe a large number of mice simultaneously. It consists of 8, 18 or 70 cages, which are all connected to each other. The animals are differentiated from each other via transponders. By means of the colony rack, movement patterns and social interaction can be recorded 24/7. The system is well suited for use in neuroscience. Futher information can be found on the homepage.

References

Kempermann G, Lopes JB, Zocher S, Schilling S, Ehret F, Garthe A, Karasinsky A, Brandmaier AM, Lindenberger U, Winter Y, Overall RW. The individuality paradigm: Automated longitudinal activity tracking of large cohorts of genetically identical mice in an enriched environment. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 Dec;175:105916. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105916. Epub 2022 Nov 4. PMID: 36336243.

Zocher S, Schilling S, Grzyb AN, Adusumilli VS, Bogado Lopes J, Günther S, Overall RW, Winter Y, Kempermann G. Early-life environmental enrichment generates persistent individualized behavior in mice. Sci Adv. 2020 Aug 26;6(35):eabb1478. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb1478. PMID: 32923634; PMCID: PMC7449688.

DVC - Tecniplast

The Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC) from Tecniplast includes the racks, sensor plates, RFID IVC bonnet holders, RFID reading units and software. It offers the following seven functions already integrated: entry condition monitoring, water and feed monitoring, a sensor plate for measuring animal activity, leakage detection in case of leaks in the watering system, a DVC Planner for planning daily workflows, cage identification and an automated inventory option. Further information can be found at the hompage.

References

Shenk J, Lohkamp KJ, Wiesmann M, Kiliaan AJ. Automated Analysis of Stroke Mouse Trajectory Data With Traja. Front Neurosci. 2020 May 25;14:518. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00518. PMID: 32523509; PMCID: PMC7262161.

Golini E, Rigamonti M, Iannello F, De Rosa C, Scavizzi F, Raspa M, Mandillo S. A Non-invasive Digital Biomarker for the Detection of Rest Disturbances in the SOD1G93A Mouse Model of ALS. Front Neurosci. 2020 Sep 1;14:896. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00896. PMID: 32982678; PMCID: PMC7490341.

Intellicage - TSE Systems

In an Intellicage system, cognitive abilities and behaviour of up to 16 mice or 8 rats can be observed. Only one animal can be in an OCC at a time. All rodents are uniquely identifiable by transponders. The Intellicage allows stress-free research without human manipulation and also provides a species-appropriate social environment. It can be combined with other TSE products. Disease models of Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, anxiety disorders, depression and addictive behaviour lend themselves well to the use of the Intellicage. Further information about the Intellicage from TSE Systems can be found on the homepage.

References

Sun L, Verkaik-Schakel RN, Biber K, Plösch T, Serchov T. Antidepressant treatment is associated with epigenetic alterations of Homer1 promoter in a mouse model of chronic depression. J Affect Disord. 2021 Jan 15;279:501-509. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.040. Epub 2020 Oct 26. PMID: 33128940.

Kiryk A, Janusz A, Zglinicki B, Turkes E, Knapska E, Konopka W, Lipp HP, Kaczmarek L. IntelliCage as a tool for measuring mouse behavior - 20 years perspective. Behav Brain Res. 2020 Jun 18;388:112620. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112620. Epub 2020 Apr 14. PMID: 32302617.

Mehr A, Hick M, Ludewig S, Müller M, Herrmann U, von Engelhardt J, Wolfer DP, Korte M, Müller UC. Lack of APP and APLP2 in GABAergic Forebrain Neurons Impairs Synaptic Plasticity and Cognition. Cereb Cortex. 2020 Jun 1;30(7):4044-4063. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa025. PMID: 32219307.

PhenoTyper - Noldus

The PhenoTyper is a customisable cage for observing laboratory rodents. Each PhenoTyper is equipped with a top unit containing LED lights, an infrared camera and optional stimuli and sensors. The individual design makes the PhenoTyper suitable for "simple" observations but also for conditioning. Even the walls are interchangeable and you can choose between transparent or semi-darkened walls. The cage itself is also available in different formats. More information about the PhenoTyper can be found at the hompage.

References

Rhine MA, Parrott JM, Schultz MN, Kazdoba TM, Crawley JN. Hypothesis-driven investigations of diverse pharmacological targets in two mouse models of autism. Autism Res. 2019 Mar;12(3):401-421. doi: 10.1002/aur.2066. Epub 2019 Jan 17. PMID: 30653853; PMCID: PMC6402976.

Urb M, Niinep K, Matsalu T, Kipper K, Herodes K, Zharkovsky A, Timmusk T, Anier K, Kalda A. The role of DNA methyltransferase activity in cocaine treatment and withdrawal in the nucleus accumbens of mice. Addict Biol. 2020 Jan;25(1):e12720. doi: 10.1111/adb.12720. Epub 2019 Feb 7. PMID: 30730091.

UID Mouse Matrix home cage monitoring - Animalab

UID Mouse Matrix home cage monitoring allows automated long-term recording of the biomarkers locomotor activity and body temperature of group-housed mice under all lighting conditions. The data generated by the system is easily accessible, but can also be transferred directly to Excel for further analysis. For more information, please visit the website.

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