“Implementation of these emerging technologies is really being driven by an ongoing desire to enhance the welfare of animals and the safety of researchers,” says Michael Sidelsky, rodent facility and housing specialist with Allentown Inc., a consulting and manufacturing firm based in Allentown, N.J., that supplies animal-housing systems to organizations around the world.

Going Wireless

Among the most promising of these technological trends is the utilization of wireless monitoring systems that provide real-time feedback of environmental and equipment operating conditions with instant alarm reporting capabilities that deliver alert messages via Web, text, and phone. Wireless monitoring represents a significant advancement from the traditional model where humans, working in conjunction with building automation systems, physically recorded lab conditions on a regular basis. In the traditional model, data is gathered and delivered after the fact, which reduces the opportunity for a timely response. Animals can be lost and research corrupted. Automated wireless systems provide real-time sampling of IVC rack conditions—including temperature, humidity changes, HEPA filter status, and HEPA blower motor status.

“The idea is to collect data so we can control, maintain, and improve conditions within the vivarium. If you’re depending on human observation, the response is usually too little, too late. Wireless monitoring systems transmit information to the responsible individual, whether that’s the supervisor, the manager, the director, or others, while it can still be acted on,” says Sidelsky.

Wireless monitoring is highly user-customized in terms of environmental parameters, alarm points, sampling intervals, and data distribution. They are also logistically superior to hard-wired systems when it comes to facility flexibility and the use of mobile, modular lab elements. Hard-wired monitoring systems often use complex wiring that limit room flexibility and can be easily damaged. Additionally, wireless systems reduce the expense and contamination dangers inherent in manual systems.

“If you have someone who has to go from room to room, perhaps without supervision, and who doesn’t wear appropriate disposable garb, they can act as a giant fomite taking contaminants from one room to another. So if you can automate this process, then that’s a significant advantage,” says Sidelsky.

While wireless vivarium monitoring represents a significant technological advancement, it also raises a number of IT issues that must be addressed based on the individual needs of the institution. Common requirements for wireless systems include high-speed LAN Internet access for alarm features, security encryption, and specialized hardware for animal holding rooms.

“You really need to check with your IT people and make sure that they’re comfortable that the system is secure, especially in the pharmaceutical and biopharma industries,” says Sidelsky.

The 56-bit encryption capabilities of Bluetooth products make them an attractive solution in situations where security is a primary concern. Real-time information detailing air-changes per hour, humidity, and temperature can all be transmitted securely with Bluetooth technology.

“Bluetooth is something that will help make your bio-security people comfortable that the data isn’t going somewhere it shouldn’t,” says Sidelsky.

Another advantage is that, because of its 79-channel frequency-hopping capabilities, Bluetooth technology can coexist alongside other common radio frequency devices that use microwaves and telemetry.

Battery Backup

Battery backup systems are attached to IVC racks and provide backup power in situations when AC power is lost. According to Sidelsky, there are essentially three situations where racks lose power—when the building loses power, when the plug receptacle goes bad, or when the unit becomes unplugged from the outlet. In all three situations, battery backup units sense the loss of power and immediately kick in to keep ventilation systems operating for anywhere between 10 and 20 hours, depending on preconfigured settings.

“Battery backup systems offer an important level of operating security, particularly if you’re working with biocontainment units. When the system is operating, you’ll see a green light indicating that the AC line is plugged in and getting power. If it loses power, it will instantly go to battery backup and a red light will go on. So if you’re in the room, and you just dislodged a plug, you’ll see that and plug it back in. If you have wireless technology, you would also be notified at your desk or on your cell phone that there’s been an event,” says Sidelsky.

Battery backup units are constantly being charged by AC power, but when they sense there is no longer AC power they kick in and reduce the power output to the blower in order to extend the life of the battery and provide acceptable air levels for a longer period of time.

“A colleague called me one day and said, ‘They’re shutting down the power for an electrical upgrade and I’m really worried about the 15 sealed units I have online. What should I do?’ I told her to pull the plug on every unit and make sure that the battery backups were working. Some of them had been charging in the facility for six years without ever being used, but when she had all plugs pulled, they all worked,” says Sidelsky.

In Situ Decontamination

Another technology that is increasing lab flexibility and safety is in situ (or “onsite”) decontamination. By using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) and chlorine dioxide gases, sealed biocontainment units and standard IVC micro-isolation racks can be decontaminated onsite. In a typical decontamination system, a sterilizing vapor, commonly referred to as VHP, is sent through the egress side of the supply HEPA filter and pumped through all of the exhaust and supply plenums and into and out of all of the cages and apertures before going out the exhaust HEPA filter to be recycled.

“The idea with this type of technology is to decontaminate every plenum into and out of the cage, including the apertures that make the connection, so it’s important that there is a cage in every slot to ensure transference from the supply into the cage and out the exhaust,” says Sidelsky.

While VHP is used exclusively for surface decontamination, chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is useful for penetrating organic matter, like cage bedding and empty water bottles.

“I did an experiment testing penetration of chlorine dioxide gas in nine different beddings in 42 cages, and only one of the beddings—a very heavy bedding—did not generate a consistent kill measured by biological indicators buried beneath the bedding material in each cage,” says Sidelsky.

Bringing it Together

While wireless monitoring, battery backup, and in situ decontamination systems offer a number of significant safety and flexibility improvements to existing biosafety measures, Sidelsky emphasizes that each institution must develop its own unique strategy for adapting these newer biocontainment technologies.

“The thing to keep in mind is that no there is no single method that is going to get you where you want to be, because each situation is different. Technologies like wireless monitoring and battery backup are going to be increasingly important as we continue to be not just well-trained technicians, but also concerned, humane animal caretakers,” says Sidelsky.

By Johnathon Allen

This report is based on a presentation by Sidelsky at the Animal Research Facilities 2008 conference held in December.