Press Releases

New telemetry implants expected to change how large animal toxicology studies are conducted

by User Not Found | Dec 09, 2014

Enhanced features allow for improved data accuracy, advanced animal welfare, and labor reduction.

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 10, 2014 - Data Sciences International (DSI), the global leader in wireless physiologic monitoring, has released a new series of digital telemetry implants to meet the changing needs of preclinical toxicology researchers. M series, part of the PhysioTel™ Digital platform, was designed to help toxicologists collect the best possible physiologic data when incorporating functional endpoints into repeat-dose toxicology studies.

Adding functional endpoints to toxicology studies has evolved from short ECG strips from restrained animals to external telemetry, to now a growing acceptance of implantable telemetry. M series implants can collect blood pressure, ECG, temperature, and activity for hours, days, or weeks in unrestrained animals while avoiding confounding artifacts that could affect the detection and interpretation of study-related pathology endpoints.

Recent cardiovascular studies1, 2 have shown that housing and monitoring multiple animals in a single enclosure reduced animal stress, resulting in decreased resting blood pressure and heart rate. The combination of normalized baseline values and cleaner digital signals yielded more precise data on the functional drug effects being examined.

“This newest iteration of DSI’s breakthrough PhysioTel Digital telemetry platform will provide a dramatic step forward in the researcher’s ability to collect high-quality physiologic signals from unrestrained, conscious experimental animals in a low-stress environment,” said R. Dustan Sarazan, DVM, Ph. D., Chief Scientific Officer of DSI.

PhysioTel Digital also offers significant labor savings compared to other collection methods. The system eliminates the need to train and jacket animals. It also reduces animal handling, equipment maintenance and data analysis time due to decreased data variability.

Because M series implants are small, low-cost, and have built-in traceability features, they are also expected to have applications in infectious disease research, basic research, vaccine development and drug discovery.

“I believe that the improvements in scientific rigor, animal welfare (reduction and refinement), and clinically translatable physiologic data provided by this new system will quickly make competing technologies as obsolete as the dial telephone,” said Sarazan.

ABOUT DSI
DSI is a pioneering biomedical research company focused on preclinical systems physiology and pharmacology. The recognized global leader in physiologic monitoring, DSI offers telemetry, pulmonary solutions, software and services that help advance science. DSI serves many industries including: Pharmaceuticals, Academia, Contract Research Organizations, Biological and Chemical Defense, the Medical Device Industry, Government, and Biotechnology companies. Solutions are tailored specifically to meet the unique research needs of its customers. 

Visit http://www.datasci.com for more about the company.

1 Kreckler, L.M., Grosh, J., Schneider, J. & Foley, C.M. (2014, March). “Assessment of ECG and Hemodynamic   Changes in Nonhuman Primates Given Four Reference Compounds in Pen or Individual Housing.” Poster session presented at the Society of Toxicology Meeting and ToxExpo™, Phoenix, AZ.

 

2 Stutler, S.A. & Cox, D.M. (2012). “Use of novel telemetry devices to collect individually discernible data sets from socially housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).” International Journal of Toxicology, 32 (1) 71.

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