During long luminescence or fluorescence image acquisition rodents have to be anaesthesized.

In principle, there are two ways: intraperitoneal injection of a liquid mixture of anaesthesia (e. g. ketamine / xylazine or tribromoethanol) or anaesthesia by gaseous isoflurane.

One of the benefits of gas anaesthesia is an increased luminescent signal in rodents by a factor of two compared to tribromoethanol anaesthesia. The rodents breath normal, blood pressure and ATP levels are more stable. Gas anaesthesia is less harmful, so rodents can be anaesthesized for longer periods and more often per day, which is an important advantage.

The TEM gas anaesthesia system has been adapted to the NightOWL. The vaporizer system works with low pressure and low flow making sure no gas is leaking from the nozzles and reducing the throughput of isoflurane. A yearly calibration of the vaporizer ensures proper functioning.

The induction box can be used for both mice and rats. In collaboration with INSERM Unité 540, Montpellier, France, a special mouse tray has been developed. Up to five mice can be parallel anaesthesized in this tray.

The tray is temperature controlled to ensure body temperature is kept stable during imaging. To prevent crosstalk of light emission from one rodent to the other removable barriers separate five compartments.

Order information

41930              Complete unit for 5 rodents, 220 Volt                        
46238              Complete unit for 5 rodents, 110 Volt              
45941              Inner tray