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1 General
The device has been designed to perform screening of analgesic drugs and rodent phenotyp-
ing via heat stimulation on the rat/mouse paw, according to the method designed by Prof K.
Hargreaves.
It basically consists of an I.R. source, whose radiant energy of adjustable intensity is focused on
the rat/mouse paw, while it is freely moving on a glass pane, over which animal enclosures are
positioned to limit its movements and eventually deliver the energy to the paws from under-
neath, when the animal is standing still.
The instrument measures the time latency of the paw withdrawal response when pain elicits it,
given the radiant heat applied to the animal's paw.
1.1 Principle of Operation
The rat/mouse is normally placed into the animal enclosures from 15 minutes to 1-2 hours
before the test starts (habituation) and the operator waits for the end of any sign of exploration
or discomfort before starting the test itself. The amount of time varies with animal models and
species.
At this point, using the cross centred around the IR emitter, the operator targets the animal paw
and starts the stimulus by pressing the detect on the emitter or on the display.
The reaction time of the animal is scored and automatically recorded.
2 Instrument Description
The Plantar Test Unit consists of an I.R. source, whose radiant energy of adjustable
intensity is focused by a parabolic mirror on the animal paw.
The instrument components are:
The I.R. source, the sensor, the microcontroller and the electronic circuit.
On the instrument front panel are located a touch screen display and several connection ports.
On the back of the device are located the power socket, the power fuse and switch, the emitter
cable connector and the serial number label.
At the bottom of the IR emitter, is located a sticker with the factory calibration data.
1 General
Plantar Test instruction manual >
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