Anesthetics affect brain function and diminish the relevance of imaging and electrophysiology performed in vivo. They also severely limit the number and frequency of recording sessions. The Mobile HomeCage was developed to address these challenges.

With the Mobile HomeCage you can:
Firmly immobilize the head of a freely moving awake animal;
Offer a real, tangible environment with walls and a flat floor to highly tactile animals;

Key facts and notes:
New feature: rotating clamp for imaging in the lateral regions of the brain
Dimensions: width 43 cm, depth 30 cm, height with bridge 16,5 cm
Weight: 5,3 kg
Requires connection to an outlet of a standard laboratory pressurized air source; input pressure range: 20-60 psi, flow rate of 120 l/m recommended
Optional narrow clamp, for maze exploration and easier access to the whiskers. This clamp can be manufactured at an angle (up to 35 degrees), to have the mouse facing downward.
Discontinue all use of anaesthetics both during training and experimental paradigms;
Begin experiments after only 4 days of training and massively increase workflow with up to 4 sessions per day;
Combine high precision recordings (two-photon microscopy, patch-clamp, optogenetics or intrinsic optical imaging) with behavioral tests;
Monitor your test animals as they socialize, sleep or respond to sensory stimuli;
Avoid making modifications to your two-photon set-up – the MHC is compatible with the majority of commercial microscopes and standard breadboards;
Begin new lines of research.