"The successful cooperation of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine with the company Elunit last for many years. Elunit has produced most of the devices used in the laboratory department of pharmacological and physiological studies on preparations of mammalian or parasitic nematodes and trematodes. Some of advantages that Elunit provides are: being able to quickly modify the system components depending on the specifics of the experiment, as well as fast and efficient maintenance."
Prof.Dr. Saša Trailović Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade
RotaRod device combined with a device driver represents a dedicated system used for testing motoric skills of experimental animals. The test consists of a rotating drum on which animals are placed (usually rodents). The animals are forced to walk at the pace that is being set. The time spent on the rotating drum is measured after the animals fall off of it. Rota Rod provides an easy way to test the effects of drugs, brain damage or exhaustion on rodents.
ELUNIT Rota Rod can operate in two modes. .
- Local, the speed can be changed using BCD switch from 1-80 RPM with a resolution of 1 round per minute. This mode can be used for training rodents (rats) subjected to experiments.
- Remote, the device is operated by a computer. The speed can be set within the range of 1-80 RPM with a resolution of 0.1 rounds per minute. This mode records the falls of rodents, performs various calculations, changes the direction of the rotating drum and sets the methods for automatic acceleration and deceleration of the working speed.
The device driver is PC based and it represents a technologically advanced concept called “virtual device”. With a simple and user-friendly graphic interface, the application manages all the parameters of Rota Rod device and displays the measured values numerically as well as graphically. Furthermore, the application allows storing of the test results and subsequent accessing the same files for the purpose of data processing or documents creation. RotaSoft software enables the user to monitor the operating parameters (control of the speed and direction of the axis rotation, modes, etc.).
Technical specification
Rota Rod device:
- number of running areas: 4
- methods: autonomous or PC-based
- number of modes: 5
- rotation speed: 1- 80 RPM
- resolution of speed shaft setting: 0.1 RPM
- communication: serial RS232C (possibly USB)
- communication port address: COM1
- power supply: AC 220V, 50Hz
- consumption: 140 W
Personal computer (system requirements):
- Windows XP/7
- graphic card 1024x768
- 350 MB of hard disk space
