Description
APPLICATIONS
The breeding and holding of Specific Pathogen Free animals demands an environment which is free from contamination in the form of bacteria, viruses and parasites, known to be a significant factor in the incidence of infection in laboratory animal colonies.
Immuno-suppressed animals such as nude mice must be kept in ultra-clean conditions.
Gelman IVC Series Individually Ventilated Animal Storage Cage Systems have been developed using the laminar flow principles to meetthe needs of :
- Providing an environment free from airborne contamination in the form of bacteria, viruses and parasites, suitable for the breeding and holding of Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) or immuno-suppressed animals.
- Providing a controlled environment where airborne contaminants from the holding animals such as infected faeces, urine, fur, sawdust and aerosols are arrested and contained with no cross contamination between each cage or chamber.
- Providing an extremely cost-effective alternative to the construction of a dedicated room.
Gelman IVC Series Individually Ventilated Animal Storage Cage Systems with microprocessor-controlled diagnostic system arecompact, self-contained and mobile laminar flow enclosures suitable for the storage of small and large laboratory animals.
The cage systems are designed for single or double-sided storage to increase holding capacities and maximize laboratory space. Theycan be further interlinked in series to form a continuous row in a straight line or other configuration to meet the room design.
OPERATION
HEPA-filtered laminar airflow creates a biologically-cleaned environment for animal protection in each isolator cage.
Airborne contaminants released within each cage are filtered by an exhaust HEPA filter before the air is discharged back to the laboratory.
Units incorporate separate fan / HEPA filter systems to enable fine adjustments and air balancing for the laminar flow and exhaust air systems.
Ultra quiet fan draws in ambient air through a prefilter which removes gross particulates of 5 micron and larger. The prefiltered air is introduced to each isolator cage via a HEPA filter which arrests all particulate and biological matters down
to 0.3 micron. The ultra-clean air is introduced at a low velocity across the full length of each cage via the air inlet at the cage top. The gentle laminar and airflow pattern bathes the animals, greatly reduces the concentration of airborne contaminants and provides more efficient ventilation and drying, thus lowering the ammonia and carbon dioxide levels. A digital display monitor can be installed to measure the average in-cage temperature and humidity.
A direct drive exhaust centrifugal fan draws in the contaminated air from each isolator cage via the air outlet at the cage top. A 2-stage primary and HEPA filtration removes all biological and particulate matters down to 0.3 micron. The HEPA-filtered air passes through an exclusive HMZD molecular carbon filter before the air is discharged back into the laboratory.
The contaminated air is drawn to the exhaust system with no exposure or cross contamination of other animals in the same holding unit.
An exhaust transition adaptor complete with flexible duct for connection to the building exhaust system can be provided for total exhaust to the outside atmosphere.
