solutions for primates

Primates are intelligent, social animals with a complex range of both physical and emotional needs. Insuring the comfort and welfare of primates while maximizing experimental data integrity provides a unique challenge.

emka TECHNOLOGIES provides a complete array of products uniquely suited for the acquisition and analysis of physiological data from nonhuman primates.

noninvasive telemetry - acquire robust physiological data on freely moving animals without restraint or surgery

Restraint for data acquisition can be a highly stressful procedure for nonhuman primates. In addition, stress results in a number of physiological responses that may increase unwanted data variability. The noninvasive telemetry system developed by emka TECHNOLOGIES allows scientists to acquire robust physiological data on freely moving animals in their home environment, improving animal welfare, as well as improving the scientific integrity of the results. emka TECHNOLOGIES noninvasive telemetry system is in use in multiple primate colonies worldwide, and has the following features:

• custom-designed and field-tested jacket systems specifically for primates- comfortable enough to be well tolerated yet sturdy enough to allow pair or group housing
• real-time transmission of multi-lead ecg, temperature, and activity, with optional blood pressure via an arterial VAP and respiratory parameters via RIP belts
• devices transmit on unique frequencies with no crosstalk, making simultaneous transmission in pair or group housing situations possible
• no surgery is required- noninvasive telemetry is ideal for pre-surgical screening of animals to be implanted with devices, for toxicology applications, for intermittent data acquisitions in chronic studies, or for biologics applications
• compatibility with emka TECHNOLOGIES innovative software system, iox2 and ecgAUTO, or any third-party software package

implantable telemetry - measure blood pressure and biopotentials with rechargeable batteries and without crosstalk

Fully implantable systems also offer advantages for nonhuman primate research. Following surgery and recovery, data can be acquired in an unrestrained animal for long periods of time. However, implantable telemetry systems have limitations. Many implantable devices transmit on the same frequency, preventing simultaneous acquisition in pair or group-housed primates. Battery depletion is a significant problem for totally implanted telemetry devices, as in vivo replacement is generally impossible, and failure of the device may mean the waste of an experimental animal's life before any research objectives have been achieved. In response, emka TECHNOLOGIES now offers innovative implantable telemetry from Telemetry Research. Implants by Telemetry Research have the following features:

• suitable for the measurement of blood pressure and a variety of biopotential signals, including ecg, eeg, and emg. They are the only commercially available implantable telemetry device capable of measuring high fidelity sympathetic nerve activity (sna) in freely moving animals
• no loss of valuable animals to device battery depletion. Telemetry Research implants are recharged by patented inductive energy transfer, which allows the devices to recharge while in the animal (for primates it is possible to recharge in vivo but requires the animal to be restrained)
• devices transmit on unique frequencies with no crosstalk, making simultaneous transmission in pair or group housing situations possible
• transmission range of up to 5 m / 16 feet, eliminating the need for restrictive caging or additional signal boosting devices that are subject to animal damage
• SNA receiver offers integrated output with an adjustable time-constant
• compatibility with emka TECHNOLOGIES innovative software system, iox2 and ecgAUTO, or any third-party software package

innovative software sSolutions - accurate, efficient analysis of ecg, hemodynamic, respiratory and other waveform data

Analysis of the primate electrocardiogram is difficult, as it often contains low-amplitude waveforms, and frequent morphology changes. Our industry-leading waveform analysis program, ecgAUTO, is uniquely suited to the challenges of the primate ecg. Analysis is performed by shape recognition, allowing the scientist to "educate" the program as analysis progresses. Other features of the program include:

• concurrent analysis of hemodynamic, respiratory and other waveform data, including eeg and sleep scoring capabilities
• ventricular repolarization measurements, including QT interval assessments with traditional and individual correction formulae, restitution with TQ measurements, and T_area, T_peak-end, and other user-defined custom repolarization parameters
• shape-based identification of arrhythmias
• hrv analysis, including histograms, time-domain parameters, fast fourier transforms, and poincare plots

observational data - clinical and behavioral observations without investigator interaction

Visual contact with primates can stress the animals and affect their behavior, making valid clinical observations challenging. Paired or group housing can make the measurement of individual food and water consumption, and clinical signs such as vomiting difficult to assign to individual animals. Primates in biological safety level category 3 and 4 facilities need observations without investigator contact. emka TECHNOLOGIES provides optional video data embedded within our software platform, facilitating robust and meaningful observations without the confounding effects of investigator contact. Features of our video capabilities include:

• secure video data that is embedded in our software platform
• ability to link video data with other physiological signals, allowing an investigator to assess the behavior occurring during a particular change in ecg, eeg or respiratory parameter
• adjustable image resolution to limit file size
• infrared recording, making dark cycle observations possible
• ideal for screening animals for health and behavioral suitability before study assignment or surgery

Please contact us to see how we can help you meet your primate research goals.