Monitoring Physiological Parameters in Mice during Anesthesia

Researchers perform a large number of procedures on mice that requires anesthesia. It is important to realize that anesthesia is not a simple thing. It has profound effects on an animal´s physiology because of the generalized central nervous system effects as well as specific effects on all other body systems. Most anesthetics not only induce unconsciousness but they also are respiratory, myocardial and circulatory depressants in a dose dependent manner. Physiologic functions such as body temperature, respiration and cardiovascular function must be monitored. The project will consist in built a monitoring system for mice, capable to monitor three of the physiological parameters used as criteria to assess depth of anesthesia: Heart rate, respiration rate and body temperature. The system will measure different parameters with transducers adapted to fit the physiological and anatomical characteristics of mice. An application written in LABVIEW will process and display the information as curves and numerical values in the monitor of the computer.