Telemetry methods in small rodents
Telemetry enables automated and wireless in vivo recordings of a range of physiological parameters, such as body temperature, heart rate and neural activity. This flexibility opens up possibilities for monitoring of experimental animals that would otherwise be too burdensome, or even physically impossible, to carry out using traditional methods. In this month's Technology Feature, James Niemeyer describes some of the core principles of using telemetry in small rodents and the advantages that telemetry recording systems can bring to a lab and vivarium. One key advantage is the elimination of routine handling procedures for acquiring in vivo data, which can reduce animal stress and data variability. Telemetry can also dramatically increase recording throughput, enabling automated longitudinal studies from large groups of animals. Automated and wireless recordings are likely to grow in popularity as scientists continue their push for 'big data' approaches in biomedical research.
