Core Modules
5
TSE PhenoMaster System
for small Laboratory Animals
1.
Introduction
System configuration
These operating instructions describe devices and features of the PhenoMaster Phenotyping
Research Platform of TSE Systems. Some devices and features may not be available on your
system. For your individual system configuration, please refer to your order confirmation. If you have
questions or need assistance, please contact
The TSE system - a modular animal research platform - is designed to measure locomotor activity,
metabolic performance, drinking and feeding behavior, and wheel activity of small laboratory animals
during an experiment. The use of the different functional features according to the investigator`s
requirements is possible.
Activity measurements via sensor frames
can be done in the extended version with both, animal
cages for mice and those for rats plus a single sensor frame system. A reduced version is for use with
animal cages for a single species only. The systems differ in the size of their sensor frames, among
other things.
The activity function registers the locomotor activity of the animal in the animal cage. Special frames
are equipped with IR sensors, each sensor consists of an IR receiver and the corresponding IR
emitter, which produces infrared light beams intersecting in the animal cage.
The frames can be supplied with light beams in the X, Y, and Z level according to the system
configuration.
Various parameters can be used for determining the locomotor activity of the animals.
The software registers the number of beam interruptions caused by the animal’s movement. Beam
breaks are divided into ambulatory and fine movements whose sum provides the total number of
interrupted light beams. According to the system configuration, the parameters listed below can be
measured.
ActiMot2 Result Parameters
Parameter
Description
"XT", "YT"
Breaks X-beam total (is equivalent to XA + XF)
Breaks Y-beam total (is equivalent to YA + YF)
"XF", "YF"
Breaks X-beam, fine movements
Breaks Y-beam, fine movements
"XA", "YA"
Breaks X-beam, ambulatory movements
Breaks Y-beam, ambulatory movements
"Z"
Breaks Z-beam, rearing
"Z2"
Breaks Z2-beam, rearing
"CenT", "PerT"
Sum central and peripheral, ambulatory and fine
movement
"CenA", "CenF" Central ambulatory and central fine movement
"PerA", "PerF"
Peripheral ambulatory and peripheral fine movement
Fig. 1 ActiMot2 result parameters (table data, binary data)
