rodentPACK is a miniature transmitter for use in rodents 250 g & larger, such as rats 

8 signals are acquired for each rodentPACK:
           • 4 biopotential signals each sampled at 1 kHz    
             (4 EEG, or 3 EEG + 1 ECG/EMG, or 2 EEG + 2 ECG/EMG) 

• 3-axis acceleration, sampled at 25Hz on each axis
• total acceleration (computed from 3 axes), for activity assessment

There are several possible applications; to cite just a couple:

• sleep and epilepsy studies, by recording eeg, emg and activity/position
• ECG recording (6-lead, with implanted or external electrodes), with activity/position  

key features

• • • • measures 19.5 x 25 x 18 mm (transmitter and headconnector)
• • weighs 13 g: ideal for rats 
  
• • transmission range: up to 5 m
• • 70 hours of continuous transmission
• • group housing with multiple animals in same cage
• • 20 to 40 animals in same room with no required shielding
• • iox software for acquisition, analysis & synchronized video recording
• • ecgAUTO software for advanced analysis (ECG, FFT, sleep scoring)
  
  

advantages

• • compact, light and noise free transmitter ( thanks to direct electrode to amplifier link)
• • no refurbishment, batteries cost less than 1$/recording 
• • a single transmitter can be used with any implanted animal
• • x/y/z acceleration signals allow for postural information
• • total acceleration useful for validating events on eeg/emg traces (seizure, movement)
• • rodentPACK may be fixed to the cranium or used as a transmitter alone 
• • rapid acclimation to rodentPACK: rats are not restrained in their everyday activities
• • easy to use configuration software
• • open system with analog outputs for direct connection to any software
  

rodentPACK consists of:

• • head connector permanently implanted in the skull
• • transmitter, connected to the head connector only during recordings
• • receiver with antenna

head connector

• • is partially implanted in the subject's skull
• • directly linked to brain electrodes and to wires leading to distant electrodes (ecg, emg)
• • locks to transmitter through 9 pins connection

transmitter

• • contains all electronics (radio transmission, signal conditioning) and a 3-axis accelerometer
• • contains two button batteries, providing around 70 hours of continuous recording
• • locks to head connector 
• • takes only moments to connect to the head connector, forming a secure connection 
• • a single transmitter can be used with any implanted animal. For example, if you own only 4 transmitters, you may implant head connectors on 16 rats, and on Day-1 record on animals 1-4, then on Day-2 record on animals 5-8 etc. So that with a limited investment you can perform in depth study of 16 animals

receiver

• • each rodentPACK transmitter is paired up with a specific receiver card
• • each transmitter/receiver pair operates on a specific frequency
• • group housing is possible, no special precaution is required to avoid cross-talk
• • up to 4 or 8 cards fit within a receiver mainframe, and multiple mainframes can be used in parallel
• • transmission strength and frequency of rodentPACKs / receiver cards can be modified. Configuration is done by wiring the transmitter to a dock, itself connected to a PC running dedicated software
• • the receiver mainframe provides analog output, for direct connection to any software

acquisition and real-time analysis

Acquisition and real-time analysis can be done in iox software.

 rodentPACK data - 50 s of data from a rat cortex, hippocampus, emg, total acceleration

post-acquisition analysis

ecgAUTO software is available for post-acquisition analysis such as ecg analysis and eeg analysis (including Fast Fourier Transform and sleep scoring).

epoch power spectrum (eeg analyzer)

3D display of average spectrums over time