Angelika Scheideler

Conventionally, laboratory rodents are individually examined in test systems outside of their home cages at specific time points. It has been shown that human intervention and other factors can influence the test results, and valuable information may be missed due to short-period testing. In contrast, monitoring animals in their home cages enables observation free of any impairment. This has taken animal testing to a new level, providing more robust test results over a longer testing period without inducing any stress to the animals. Technical progress and AI facilitate home cage monitoring of an increasing number of parameters. We are part of this development.

Standardization and provision of laboratory animals with a high hygienic status are key to successful biomedical research. The change from open to individually ventilated cage systems led to questions regarding the validity of sentinel examination for hygienic monitoring. One of our research projects is the development and application of alternative testing methods, like the analysis of exhaust air dust samples by PCR. Meanwhile, exhaust air dust monitoring allows us to completely replace the use of live mice while at the same time conducting routine health monitoring that meets the highest quality standards.