Ace Therapeutics offers rapid, non-invasive solutions for recording electrocardiograms (ECGs) in awake mice, rats and guinea pigs. Applications include diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders), detection of adverse cardiac effects of psychotropic drugs, and drug screening for psychiatric disorders.

Introduction of Electrocardiography (ECG) in Psychiatry

Researchers have found that a simple 15-minute electrocardiogram can determine whether a patient is suffering from depression or bipolar disorder. An ECG may help to easily diagnose depression and bipolar disorder. In addition, the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs on the heart are wide-ranging. They include electrical abnormalities (such as conduction system abnormalities, tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death) and structural abnormalities (such as ischemia, myocarditis and heart failure). Therefore ECG can be used not only for the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (such as anxiety disorders) but also for the detection of adverse effects of psychotropic drugs on the heart.

Fig. 1 Electrocardiogram recording in an awake mouse. (Sysa-Shah P, et al., 2015)

ECG Services

Our rodent surgical monitor allows for the integration of non-invasive ECG leads from mice and rats into the surgical warming platform. The signals are displayed in real time via a wireless connection to a tablet computer and can be saved and exported. The system can also be integrated with a data acquisition system for further ECG analysis. In addition, we offer a non-invasive neonatal mouse ECG system that can be used to record ECGs from 1-2 day old neonatal mice.

Physiologic Measurements

Our Advantages

• Real-time monitoring: clearly labeled digital panels and measurement waveforms make it easy to monitor key parameters.
• Customizable presets: define optimal study conditions and ensure consistency between subjects and partner labs.
• Easy documentation: a single image captures animal ID, vital signs, study ID, investigator, date, time and all filter settings.
• Independent data collection: capture data, post comments and view records on a tablet to quickly make measurements and verify experimental details.
• Good compatibility: compatible with adult mice, large rodents and neonates.

Ace Therapeutics offers comprehensive tools for identifying and analyzing a wide range of parameters from animal ECG recordings. Analysis can be performed online or offline, and data can be reanalyzed at any time. Applications include arrhythmia detection in vulnerable transgenic and knockout animals (including newborn pups), health monitoring, and antipsychotic drug screening. If you would like more information about this service, please feel free to make an inquiry.

Reference

1. Sysa-Shah P, et al. Electrocardiographic Characterization of Cardiac Hypertrophy in Mice that Overexpress the ErbB2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase. Comp Med. 2015, 65(4):295-307.