system overview

Standard cages* are modified to receive two force sensors - the system can be adapted to different cages:

• the stainless steel lid is cut out in order to detach the food and liquid holders from the lid
• two openings are made in the plastic chamber to place the holders and the sensors into the chamber
• a separator is added in the chamber to isolate the sensor zone from the animal - this seperation is laid out right beneath the manger

* Tecniplast 2154F cage

signal acquisition and processing

iox2 software can acquire and process data simultaneously from a maximum of 32 cages. A specific module was developed within iox2 for the analysis of food and liquid consumption.

reliable measurements

• to avoid artifacts while the animal consumes food or drink, measurements are only taken during stability periods
• the user can set the definition of stability periods

behavioural indications

• between two measurements the analyzer is able to evaluate the number of food intakes, which provides additional behavioral information
• the analyzer provides a calculation of events per specific period or over the whole experiment

The results are available as tables and trend graphs over the required duration for each animal.