For assessment of animal sensitivity to light touch on the paw
The Ugo Basile Plantar von Frey™ Aesthesiometer is a microprocessor-controlled unit. The experimental data, stored in its internal memory, can be directly exported to the PC via a USB or serial port. The 57820 is provided with a USB memory key, and dedicated software to record all the experimental data of one or more sessions, and to program the experiment layouts from a remote PC.
The Ugo Basile Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer has been designed to automate the assessment of “touch sensitivity” on the plantar surface of rats or mice and comes ready to work with both Mice and Rats. It is known by some as the Electronic Von Frey or Plantar Von Frey instrument, but it differs from Von Frey devices as Latency and Actual Force at the time of paw withdrawal reflex are automatically detected and recorded.
Somesthetic (mechanical) stimulation has a long history of effective clinical use to diagnose pathologies of hyper- or hypo-aesthesia, brought about by drugs, neural pathology or experimental lesions, etc., in model and experimental systems using laboratory animals.
The new model encompasses:
A movable touch-stimulator unit well proven in revious model
A microprocessor controlled electronic unit, of new design provided with graphic display, internal memory for data storage, memory stick and optional printer.
A large testing surface
A new modular animal enclosure, offering from 3 to 12 spaces.
Computer compatibility: direct connection to a PC, via the dedicated software included as standard
PC Interface: USB and serial
Read-out: multifunction liquid-crystal graphic-display
Data Portability: via the Memory-Key provided with the standard package
Print-out: by optional panel mount or independent thermal mini-printer
Universal Mains 85-264 VAC, 50-60Hz
OPERATION
The animal moves about freely in one of the enclosure compartments, positioned on testing surface.
After cessation of exploratory behaviour, the operator places the touch-stimulator below the target area of the animal paw, using the adjustable angled-mirror to position the filament.
Pressing START key provided at both sides of the handle of the touch-stimulator, invokes the following automatic sequence:
An electrodynamic actuator of proprietary design lifts a straight metal filament
The filament touches the plantar surface and begins to exert an upward force below the threshold of feeling
The force increases (at the preset application rate), until a stop signal is attained, either the animal removing the paw or the point at which greatest preset force is met.
The actuator filament (0.5mm diameter) produces force over the entire range of all typical aesthesiometer test devices. Paw withdrawal reflex is automatically recorded using two metrics: the latency until withdrawal, in seconds, and the force at which paw was withdrawn, in grams.
DATA QUISITION
This is a microprocessor controlled unit. The experimental data, stored in its internal memory can be directly exported to the PC USB or serial ports.
Communication is managed by the dedicated CUB Data Acquisition Software Package, included as standard. The CUB Windows®-based Software Package enables the user to route the experimental data to the PC and store them into individual files, to be managed by most statistical analysis packages available on the market.
This model is provided with a memory key, to record all the experimental data of one or more sessions.