Description
The non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP) test aims to evaluate systemic blood pressure and cardiovascular parameters in rodents without any invasive catheterization.
The NIBP method in animals is based on the same sphygmomanometric technique used for measuring arterial pressure in humans.
The sphygmomanometric method
Like its counterpart for human use, the N.I.B.P. kit is equipped with a cuff (sphygmomanometer) to occlude blood flow as well as a transducer (stethoscope) to follow pulse evolution throughout the measuring process.
In the case of both humans and the animals, we are speaking of indirect pressure because the blood pressure value is not measured invasively from within an artery. Instead, arterial pressure values (systolic and diastolic) are determined from a pulse sensor placed noninvasively on the surface of the skin to detect arterial pulsations and non-turbulent flow throughout the cycle of tail cuff compression and release.
See more detail on the sphygmomanometric method in the following link.
Experimental conditions for NIBP method
Obtaining reliable data with the NIBP method needs specific conditions to be fulfilled. The following points are critical:
- Animal activity and emotional state (habituation). Finally the main difficulty in this test is getting the animal enough quiet and stable for the measurement, so a lot of time have to be spend habituating the animal and waiting for stable pulse signal before getting reliable data
- Animal body temperature and vasodilatation
- Experimental conditions and objectives (lighting, noise, drug treatment, measurement timeline, conscious/awake or anesthetized animals…).
- NIBP system use (transducer and cuff position…)
See more details on the importance of habituation in conscious/awake animals in the following link.
Special cases for which NIBP method is difficult to be applied:
- Hyperactive or very stressful animal specie or strain. Given that the reliability of the data depends whether the animal is quiet enough inside an holder during the measurement, the NIBP method is difficult to apply on awake animal specie or strain that are always moving or that are difficult to calm down.
- Anesthetized animals: whether the experimenter uses anesthetized animal because they would like to have the animals quiet enough during the measurement of basal blood pressure, special care has to be taken about animal temperature and possible effect of anesthetics on breathing. More detail in the following link.
- Respiratory Ventilator use: the NIBP method cannot be used on anesthetized animal connected to a ventilator for respiration monitoring. The breathing movements induced by the ventilator can be registered by the transducer placed on the animal tail so impairing the NIBP measurement.
- Blood pressure evaluation at precise interval time or after treatment: the NIBP method is definitely not recommended whether the experiment needs a reliable blood pressure evaluation at precise interval time after a drug injection for instance since reliable data mainly depends on animal emotional state and body movement and it is not always possible to control these variables precisely in the time. In this kind of experiment, the animal decides!
- Blood pressure evaluation in animal model of cirrhosis. In that case, the use of the non-invasive blood pressure method is not recommended since the membrane of the veins of the tail is destroyed, so their elasticity is not optimal for pulse recording and for obtaining optimal occlusion/recuperation responses during the measurement.
In any case, consult us whether you have any doubt about whether the NIBP method can be used for your experiments.
Related Panlab Integrated Solutions
NIBP system (Panlab) – for 1 rat or mouse
- 1 x NIBP control unit (standard control unit with internal memory is 760174/LE5002, cost-saving control unit without internal memory is 760173/LE5001)
- 1 x 761137/LE5610A heater
- 1 x pressure cuff & pulse transducer - to be chosen from the list of available cuff and transducers depending on the animal species and size – standard size are 760013/LE5160R ref. for rat and 760012/LE5160M ref. for mouse.
- 1 x animal holder - to be chosen from the list of available holders depending on the animal size – standard size are 760186/LE5022 holder for adult rat is 250-300 gr and 760184/LE5018 holder for adult mouse is 30-35 gr.
- 1 x 760406/SEDACOM V2.0 SEDACOM software (option)
- 1 x 761132/ CONRS232USBHS - RS232/USB converter for SEDACOM (option)
- 1 x 760466/NIBPCHART - NIBPchart software (option)
- 1 x 760649/NIBPCHARTUSB - BNC/USB converter for NIBPCHART software (option)
This is the standard solution for evaluating NIBP in one animal. Several restrainers and heaters can be used for saving time with the animal habituation process between each animal measurement.
NIBP system (Panlab) – for 6 rats or mice
- 1 x 760175/LE5007 - NIBP control unit for the scanner and heater unit.
- 1 x 760179/LE56506 -scanner/heater unit
- 6 x pressure cuff & pulse transducer - to be chosen from the list of available cuff and transducers depending on the animal species and size – standard size are 760013/LE5160R ref. for rat and 760012/LE5160M ref. for mouse.
- 6 x animal holders - to be chosen from the list of available holders depending on the animal size – standard size are 760186/LE5022 holder for adult rat is 250-300 gr and 760184/LE5018 holder for adult mouse is 30-35 gr.)
- 1 x 760406/SEDACOM V2.0 SEDACOM software (option)
- 1 x 761132/CONRS232USBHS - RS232/USB converter for SEDACOM (option)
- 1 x 760466/NIBPCHART - NIBPchart software (option)
- 1 x 760649/NIBPCHARTUSB - BNC/USB converter for NIBPCHART software (option)
The multiple animal NIBP set-up does not allow simultaneous measurements, it just allows a simultaneous habituation of the animal and an automated or manual switch between them for blood pressure measurements; the measurement is then sequential… This means that the 6 animals are placed into the restrainers, and the restrainers are placed into the Heater & scanner unit that will keep them warm for facilitating habituation and vasodilatation. Each animal will have the cuff and transducer connected on their tail in one part and the heater and scanner unit on another part. From the scanner, the animal that will be under measurement can be selected manually or from the LE5007 unit. When the LE5007 unit is used, the user can program it to switch automatically between the animals with a user-defined interval of time. If the control unit detects that the pulse signal received from the current animal is not suitable for the measurement in the dedicated interval of time, it will switch on to the next animal.
NIBP system (Panlab) – for 12 rats or mice
- 1 x 760175/LE5007 - NIBP control unit for the scanner and heater unit.
- 2 x 760179/LE56506 - scanner/heater unit
- 1 x 760648/LE5656 - Interface for connecting two LE56506 scanner/heater units
- 12 x pressure cuff & pulse transducer - to be chosen from the list of available cuff and transducers depending on the animal species and size – standard size are 760013/LE5160R ref. for rat and 760012/LE5160M ref. for mouse.
- 12 x animal holders - to be chosen from the list of available holders depending on the animal size – standard size are 760186/LE5022 holder for adult rat is 250-300 gr and 760184/LE5018 holder for adult mouse is 30-35 gr.
- 1 x 760406/SEDACOM V2.0 SEDACOM software (option)
- 1 x 761132/CONRS232USBHS - RS232/USB converter for SEDACOM (option)
- 1 x 760466/NIBPCHART - NIBPchart software (option)
- 1 x 760649/NIBPCHARTUSB - BNC/USB converter for NIBPCHART software (option)
The multiple animal NIBP set-up does not allow simultaneous measurements, it just allows a simultaneous habituation of the animal and an automated or manual switch between them for blood pressure measurements; the measurement is then sequential… This means that the 12 animals are placed into the restrainers, and the restrainers are placed into the Heater & scanner units that will keep them warm for facilitating habituation and vasodilatation. Each animal will have the cuff and transducer connected on their tail in one part and the heater and scanner unit on another part. From the scanner, the animal that will be under measurement can be selected manually or from the LE5007 unit. When the LE5007 unit is used, the user can program it to switch automatically between the animals with a user-defined interval of time. If the control unit detects that the pulse signal received from the current animal is not suitable for the measurement in the dedicated interval of time, it will switch on to the next animal.
Data output options
760173/LE5001, 760174/LE5002 or 760175/LE5007 CONTROL UNITS: the following data can be seen directly on the display of these control units: Systolic blood pressure, Diastolic blood pressure, Mean blood pressure and Heart rate
760406/SEDACOM V2.0 + 761132/CONRS232USBHS: Software option allowing the user transferring to the SEDACOM software the same data shown on the control unit display. These data will be shown in Numeric table directly exportable to Excel. Together with these numeric data, SEDACOM will provide information about the session (date, etc…) and allows the user entering information about the subjects under experiment.
760466/NIBPCHART + 760649/NIBPCHARTUSB: Data output in this case is graphical! This is a very important data output for ensuring that the measurement is done in reliable way, so we always strongly recommend the user to have it. The NIBP test success mainly depends on the animal habituation so, this software is the best way to see whether the animal is ready or not for the measurement. This is also the best way to check the reliability of the data.
