Temperature-Controlled Recording System for Wireless Data Acquisition from Immature Rodents

Summary: Biomedical research on rodent models of disease depends on research tools that not only facilitate the actual experiments, but also improve reproducibility while enhancing animal care and welfare. In this SBIR application, we propose to develop a complete “turn-key” system for studying physiological biopotentials obtained from immature rodents (i.e., rat and mouse pups). Specifically, we intend to provide tools and devices that will facilitate physiological experiments on immature rodents by designing, building, testing, and then commercializing a wireless recording system with a focus on the electroencephalogram (EEG), a common clinical tool. We will build and test a new temperature-controlled recording chamber, which is specifically necessary for immature rodents because they cannot control their body temperature when separated from the dam. This novel system will also allow investigators to simulate clinical hypothermia for rodent studies of the EEG while modelling neonatal stroke and during the subsequent phases of brain injury. BIOPAC Systems, Inc. will continue to collaborate with researchers at the University of Utah, and have already developed and tested a proof of concept device. This collaboration will engage the engineering expertise of BIOPAC and collaboratively build on the experience of the academic lab at the University of Utah to generate an optimized system for recording and analysis of seizures and other EEG abnormalities similar to those used clinically. This novel system will be a major extension of one of BIOPAC’s current products, the EPOCHTM miniature wireless recording system, which was invented and patented at the University of Utah and is already commercially available from BIOPAC. Upon completion, the novel EPOCHTM miniature wireless system will greatly facilitate research on immature rodents as animal models of neurological disease and injury, while improving the reproducibility and animal care for this type of research.