Non-Aversive Animal Platform
Minimizing the stress of animals in the OptoDrum arena - this is what the non-aversive platform achieves. The transparent side walls provide a "safe space" for the animals, reducing the tendency of animals to jump of the platform.
Key Features of the New Animal Platform
- Non-Aversive Design
The platform is engineered to minimize stress, enabling successful optomotor experiments with a wide range of animals, including those that are typically more difficult to handle. - Transparent Side Walls
These calming features help reduce anxiety in animals, promoting natural behavior and more reliable data collection. - Innovative “Tunnel-Lid”
This design allows animals to voluntarily enter the platform in their home cage, upon which the platform can be transferred to the OptoDrum arena without touching the animal.
Transparent side walls provide a safe space for the animals in the OptoDrum arena
"Tunnel Lid" provides an enclosed area for an animal to enter voluntarily inside its home cage. The animal can then be transferred from its cage to the arena without the need to touch it.
By integrating these features, the new Animal Platform not only enhances the quality of experimental data but also aligns with modern standards of ethical animal research. This development supports researchers in creating refined experimental conditions that further increase animal comfort and improve overall data validity – a prime example of Refinement of animal experiments.
Variations
2 Colors:
- white platform: For animals with dark fur
- black platform: For animals with light fur
2 Sizes:
- small platform (for mice): 80x60 mm. Side walls: 100 mm high
- large platform (for rats): 132x85 mm. Side walls: 75 mm high
Note: Starting 2026, a white non-aversive platform is included in each OptoDrum order by default.