SA Instruments 1030 Operation Manual page 43

tape. The wire bundle should then be taped to the animal holder to eliminate movement
from gradient vibration and/or air flow. Movement of the ECG lead wires will create
artifacts in the ECG waveform.
Caution: ECG lead wires should be twisted and unnecessary
loops should be avoided. The lead wires should be
taped to eliminate unwanted movement from
gradient vibrations and/or air flow.
ECG lead wires can degrade tuning of the MR imaging coil. As a general rule, the lead
wires should be routed as far away from the coil elements as practical
E-resp™ with a cradle
The cradle allows one of the active (red or white) ECG leads to be closely coupled to
the abdomen of the animal. As the animal breaths, the lead moves in the strong
magnetic field creating a respiration voltage signal superimposed on the ECG
waveform.
For mice, the cradle can be positioned on the back or under the stomach. The photo
below shows the cradle positioned under the mouse. The cradle can be used in different
configurations by removing and reapplying the tape.
For rats, the lead does not need to extend around the entire cradle. The longer the
length of wire attached to the cradle, the larger the respiration signal superimposed on
the ECG waveform. At 4.7 T taping the lead on one half of the cradle gives a suitable
signal. For higher field systems, less lead length coupled to the cradle maybe
desirable.
When a surface coil is used to image the liver or heart by positioning the coil under the
animal's abdomen, an appropriate place for the E-resp cradle is around the spine. If a
surface coil is used to image the spine, the cradle would be positioned from under the
Revision C, August 2013
ERT Module
4-3