Vivarium Modernization with Digital Ventilated Cages to Enhance Research Capacity and Reproducibility, and Provide Cage Environment Monitoring for Improved Operational Efficiency and Animal Welfare

摘要 我们正在寻求支持，以购买和安装集成数字通风笼子系统，以 提高业务效能，实现研究支持业务的现代化和加强 现有的、已有25年以上历史的共享使用ABSL3设施。这一FOA是及时的，因为 我们要求的集成数字通风笼子(DVC®)系统的添加将发挥协同作用 随着我们正在进行的对现有间隔室设施进行现代化改造的机构战略计划，并拥有广泛的 给机构研究界带来的好处。静态微隔离器笼子系统目前在 使用是次优的和过时的，不能满足大量 来自不同学科的研究人员对感染SAR2-Covid的动物进行了ABSL3研究， SARS-Covid变种和其他BL3病毒。DVC®是独一无二的革命性家庭笼子 由电子设备和软件组件混合组成的监控系统，用于收集 直接从家庭笼子里获取信息。我们选择这个系统的目的是：1)改进 提高共用设施运营效率；2)加强动物福利管理。此外， 3)独特的检测系统收集外部环境条件 (温度、湿度、噪音和振动、人为干预等)在家里的笼子里。这些 这些因素可能会对使用动物的实验产生影响，并在出版物中作为一种 一般做法有助于提高研究质量(严谨性和可重复性)。这个 将一个过时的ABSL3设施现代化到一个更安全的设施，其中包含最先进的 两个动物房内的集成数字通风笼具系统。这一设备现代化 将与机构资助的现代化努力相结合，并有可能产生协同作用 在未来六个月内完成-例如，现代化的动物笼养系统 将设在现代化的BL3纸巾套间旁边并可直接进入的房间 加工和样品加工。因此，我们提出的装备现代化是一个至关重要的 逐步满足来自不同学科的当前和未来研究人员的需求 用于研究的啮齿动物模型涉及越来越多的BL3病原体。

ABSTRACT We are seeking support to purchase and install an integrated digital ventilated cage system to enhance operational efficacy and modernize and strengthen the research-supporting operations of an existing, more than twenty-five-year-old shared-use ABSL3 facility. This FOA is timely, since the addition of the integrated Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC®) system we are requesting would synergize with our ongoing institutional strategic plan to modernize existing vivarium facilities, and have broad benefits for the institutional research community. The static microisolator caging system currently in use is suboptimal and antiquated and cannot meet the current or future needs of the large number of investigators from different disciplines performing ABSL3 work with animals infected with SAR2-Covid, SARS-Covid variants and other BL3 agents. The DVC® is a unique and revolutionary home-cage monitoring system composed of a mix of electronics and software components to collect a set of information directly from the home cage. We selected this system with the goals of 1) improving the shared-use facility operational efficiency and 2) enhancing animal welfare management. Furthermore, 3) the unique detection system collects extrinsic environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, noise and vibration, human intervention, etc.) in the home cages. These factors are likely to have effects on experiments using animals and reporting them in publications as a general practice could contribute to improved research quality (rigor and reproducibility). The modernization of an outdated ABSL3 facility to a more secure one containing a state-of-the-art integrated digital ventilated cage system in two animal housing rooms. This equipment modernization will combine and potentially synergize with institutionally-funded modernization efforts slated to be completed within the next six months – for example, the modernized animal housing caging system will be located in rooms adjacent to and with direct access to a modernized BL3 suite for tissue processing and specimen processing. Therefore, our proposed equipment modernization is a critical step towards meeting the needs of current and future investigators from diverse disciplines using rodent animal models for research involving an increasing number of BL3 pathogens.