Share thisThings to think about when purchasing and using individually ventilated caging systems.
My company has designed and manufactured individually, ventilated caging systems for over a quarter of a century. Over the years I have been asked many questions concerning Individually Ventilated Caging Systems (IVCs). Here are some of the most common questions or comments that I have received in alphabetical order.
Air Changes/Hour (ACH): What are the standard air changes per hour in each cage for the ventilated caging system that you are interested in? Some systems are factory-set to operate at only one rate. Most systems operate between 50 ACH and 75 ACH. Can you vary the rate in the system that you are considering to suit your specific requirements? Nude mice and some transgenic strains do better at 30 ACH. Diabetic mice may require 90 ACH to keep the ammonia levels in the cage down to tolerable levels. Look at your specific needs and determine what is best for you, keeping in mind that the standard “shoebox” size cage only requires .30 cubic feet/minute.
Biocontainment: If you are utilizing the ventilated caging system for biocontainment, is the cage sealed? If the cage is sealed, do you have the proper equipment to check the seal on each cage to insure its integrity? Repeated autoclaving can fatigue most materials and cause them to loose their memory. It is imperative that you check your seals if you are utilizing your system for biocontainment purposes. If you are running a system that can be operated under positive pressure or negative pressure, is the system manufactured to run negative only, under all circumstances? When utilizing sealed cages, you must have back-up emergency power. Can you provide this if required?
Cage Design: Do you need to house multiple species in your facility or are you only housing one? How many animals do you normally house per cage? Do you singly house large numbers of animals on a regu basis? If you do, what percentage of your total population do you singly house? All of these factors affect the size or sizes of cages that you should utilize. How often do you autoclave your cages? Do you autoclave your cages in and out of your facility? What chemicals are your exposing your equipment to? Remember that something as simple as wood chip bedding can attack polycarbonate cages when you autoclave the bedding in the cage. Do you have clean steam in your autoclave? There are a number of plastic resins available, do you know which one best suits your specific needs?
Decontamination: Can the system you are considering be easily decontaminated? Does the system come totally apart to insure complete sanitation and sterilization? Are there inaccessible cavities that cannot be cleaned and sanitized properly? If so, are you willing to accept “clean” dirt in your facility? Can you utilize hydrogen peroxide to decon your systems? Can all the components in the system be washed and autoclaved or must some of them be removed? Do some of the components come apart in the wash cycle? If so, do you need extra components on hand to replace them?