telemetry in swine

The use of swine in, pharmacology, pharmacokinetic and safety evaluation of new drug candidates has increased rapidly in recent years.

The minipig is a good preclinical model, as many of the organ systems are physiologically and histologically similar to human counterparts.  The minipig has a similar heart-to-body weight ratio and a coronary artery distribution similar to humans. Moreover, cardiac anatomy, physiology, metabolism and electrophysiology are comparable to man.

Today the minipig is considered to be a particularly useful species for evaluating cardiovascular and dermatological toxicities and predicting similar drug liabilities in humans.

For chronic acquisition of ecg and other waveform data in the minipig, emka TECHNOLOGIES offers both noninvasive and implantable systems.

noninvasive telemetry

The noninvasive emkaPACK telemetry system is an accurate and cost-effective alternative to implanted telemetry systems for use in swine. It can provide ecg recordings (1-lead, 6-lead, 7-lead) for up to 3 consecutive days.

The system contains all hardware and software needed to perform telemetry studies with up to 16 individually or group housed subjects.

The signals from each subject are transmitted by the emkaPACK transmitter worn by the subject. Each emkaPACK has a matching receiver and all receivers are housed in a mainframe.

The mainframe(s) are connected to an interface box, from where a single cable carries all signals to the acquisition card of the computer.

It is possible to combine, split and amplify different signals as necessary.  This is done through the use of one or more versatile antenna adapters (vaas) placed between the antennas and the interface box.

The emkaPACK may be used to record several types of signals: ecg (1-, 6- or 7-lead), skin temperature, activity, blood pressure (via a vascular access port) and respiration.  Each signal type is available as an optional module.

Data acquisition and real-time analysis are performed with iox software. Add-on modules (analyzers) are available for analyzing specific data types, including activity, temperature, and ecg (simple heart rate analysis).  iox can also acquire video data from compatible cameras. The video streams (MPEG-4 or Motion-JPEG format) are dynamically linked to iox  data files.  When the user views a particular raw data segment, the video signal can be opened at that time point.

The post-acquisition software ecgAUTO allows the scientist to fully analyze ecg data (including repolarization parameters, arrhythmias and HRV) and other waveform data such as respiration.

We provide custom clothing (designed by LOMIR) perfectly adapted to the species.

implantable telemetry

If you wish to acquire data using implants, emka TECHNOLOGIES provides a solution which is both effective and cost-effective.

Implantable telemetry transmitters and associated receivers are manufactured by our partner Telemetry Research. Several transmitter models are available, each offering a specific combination of signals. These include:

• 2 ecg (or other biopotential) + temperature 
• 1 ecg (or other biopotential)  + blood pressure + temperature
• 1 blood pressure + sympathatic nerve activity (SNA)* 
• and many more

* the only commercially available system to measure high fidelity sympathetic nerve activity in freely moving animals (sampling rate of 8 kHz)

Up to 12 implants can be used concurrently in group housed pigs without crosstalk.

Transmission range is up to 5m with 7 days of continuous data acquisition between recharges.

Click here to find out more.

visit emka TECHNOLOGIES minisite at: telemetry.emka.fr

The minisite contains a wealth of information about telemetry systems from emka TECHNOLOGIES: the different types of setups, with detailed description of different components; how to find the right system for your needs; FAQs; literature to download; list of customers and how they are using telemetry; possible combinations of signals etc.