Testimonials

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Testimonials and Case Studies

Animal Care Systems products are saving energy in more than 530 research facilities around the globe, including:

  • Universities, Colleges, Veterinary and Medical Schools
  • Pharmaceutical Companies
  • Private Research Facilities
  • Public and Private Hospitals
  • Breeding Facilities
  • State and Federal Research Facitities: NIH, CDC, EPA, VA and USDA

Please read what satisfied ACS customers have to say about our unique technology and superior caging systems

University of MelbourneTestimonials from Satisfied Customers.

Department of Medicine (RMH/WH)
Sept 2007

To whom it may concern,

Since October 2006 The University of Melbourne Department of Medicine (RMH/WH) has been operating with 13 of our 20 OptiMICE racks in use.

These racks, in a facility not designed for individually ventilated cages have allowed us to make maximal use of the space while maintaining a specific organism free environment, housing 15 mouse lines ranging from the standard control and transgenic lines through to experimental animals.

Our mice housed in the OptiMICE system are breeding at the same rate or better than they previously did in standard open top cages. The transparent cages allow for easy non invasive observation of mice, such as health checks, birthing and experimental observations, reducing the amount of stress on the animals. Animal behaviour remains normal even while the racks are being gently turned to access other animals. Some previously jumpy strains have also begun to quieten down since the move to this system.

OptiMICE cages have proven to be easy to use, with no parts requiring maintenance at this stage. The system was connected to our exhaust by AACS staff and there have been no problems with airflow since the installation. This direct installation to the room exhaust which vents directly outside ensures there are no animal odours in the facility expect in the wash area, a set up that is providing comfort to researchers with allergies The movement of air through the cages via the low placed front filter and high placed back filter, coupled with the use of aspen bedding has reduced the frequency of cleaning required, thus lowering the stress on animals, and allowing staff to focus more on welfare and techniques than just cleaning. The addition of the tunnels has proven beneficial for our stock mice by providing environmental enrichment which they use by hiding in, climbing upon and moving around the cage. To date there have been few instances of chewing and the tunnels increase the floor space of the cage allowing us to house up to 8 mice of certain weights per cage. The tunnels are easy to wash, sterilise and stack. Tunnels are not provided to breeders. The option of two different sized feeders for higher and lower cage capacities, a powder feeder and a tox floor (perforated wire bottom), have proven to be very helpful in our particular experiments.

We have had very few occurrences of floods from the bottles as they do not tend to block or flood unless they are improperly capped or the bottle itself is damaged. There have been some instances of gnawing on a particular corner of the bottles, however by re-positioning the hanger this is can be evenly spread reducing the risk of floods.

Overall the system has proven to be beneficial to our facility, allowing us to hold more animals than our previous facility with the added ease of handling and health monitoring, with little maintenance to the units themselves. The customer service from both the AACS and the ACS teams was excellent from the first contact point where they were willing to design additional items for the cages, and this service has continued to this date I have no hesitation in recommending this system to other users and I encourage them to seek the advice of AACS when laying out and installing into the facility. Thanks to the extra care given by the AACS team the delivery and installation of the system into our facility was quick and much easier than anticipated.

Kind Regards

Jennifer Davis
BRF Manager
The University of Melbourne
Department of Medicine (RMH/WH)

UPDATE: February 2008

We house mice in groups with a maximum of 8 per cage using the tunnel troughs as enrichment. We also use the recommended Aspen bedding which has increased the time between our cleaning cycles, too much sawdust however will increase the frequency of changes as it won't dry out properly in the cage. Cages with 8 mice are cleaned weekly; cages of 6-7 can go from 10 to 14 days but generally require a top up of feed after 7 days as we have the smaller sized feeder, water will last for 10 days in a cage of 7 mice. (All of this is of course dependant on size and sex of the animals).

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I am a basic researcher with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience who has been working with rodents and rodent caging for about 18 years. Animal Care System's OptiMICE caging system is by far the most convenient for the researcher, and the most comfortable for the animals, of any system that I have ever worked with. I am a keen observer of rodent behavior, and I am convinced that the OptiMICE set up affords the most naturalistic and least stressful laboratory environment possible for mice. The wedge shape of the OptiMICE cage, and the internal shape of the cages allows the animals to exercise a fuller range of natural nesting and climbing behavior than other rectangular configurations. I believe that the breeding efficiency of my mouse colony has been optimized by their being housed in OptiMICE cages.

For the user, the cages stack nicely, are durable, easily picked up with one hand, easy to secure in place on the rack as they dock to verify proper placement. The price of the caging system is competitive with others, but I think the real value lies in the breeding efficiency of the animals and the safety for both animals and users of a properly working system. Perhaps most important has been the instant responsiveness of the team at ACS to my suggestions for improvements to the system. I was one of the first users of the OptiMICE system, and in response to some initial issues with the water bottle, food hopper structures, and the cage card holders, the team at ACS quickly remedied the situation with design improvements that eliminated any previous problems. As far as I am concerned, the OptiMICE system as is currently in use is completely problem free.

I have nothing but positive things to say about ACS, and will always be happy to give them rave reviews on not only the products, but their absolutely stellar customer service.

Sharon Low-Zeddies, Ph.D.
MusWorks, Inc.
Falls Church, Virginia

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References

Here is a list of industry professionals who will share their experience using the OptiMICE System:

Mitch Silverstein - OptiMICE and OptiRAT
Supervisor, Facility Operations
Psychogenics
(914)406-8028
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Fraser Darling MA (Cantab). BSc (Hons) CBiol MIBiol MRIPHH - OptiMICE and OptiRAT
Director of Biological Services (Chelsea/Sutton)
The Institute of Cancer Research
Chester Beatty Laboratories
237 Fulham Road
Chelsea
London SW3 6JB

Direct (Chelsea) 0207 153 5229
Direct Fascimile (Chelsea) 0207 153 5543

Direct (Sutton) 0208 722 4306
Direct Fascimile (Sutton) 0208 722 4050

Edwin Delaney - OptiMICE
Director of Facility Operations
Children's Hospital Boston
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Camilla Felton - OptiMICE
Facility Manager
North Carolina Central University
(919) 530-7002
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Julia Granowski - OptiMICE and OptiRAT
National Jewish Medical & Research Center
(303) -398-1431
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr. Timothy D. Mandrell - OptiMICE
Director
University of Tennessee – Memphis
(901) 448-5451
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phil Shirley - OptiMICE
IBT
(713) 677-7471
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Katherine Wasson, DVM, MS, PhD - OptiMICE
Diplomate, ACLAM
University of California, Davis
One Shields Ave
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 757-3321 (MBP phone)
(530) 757-3277 (MBP fax)

Peter Rodriguez
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
M.I.C.E. System

Richard Simoniello
University of Connecticut
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M.I.C.E. System

Labquip Asia References

Institute Medical Research
Animal House
M.I.C.E – 4 unit
Dr Dorothy

Universiti Putra Malaysia
Faculty Veterinary
OptiMICE – 1 unit
Dr Fuzina
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Universiti Putra Malaysia
Institute Bioscience
ErgoMICE – 1 unit
Prof Maznah

Universiti Putra Malaysia
Unit LIVES
OptiMICE – 8 unit
OptiRAT – 9 unit
Dr Rahim
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Universiti Putra Malaysia, Medical School
Animal House
OptiRAT – 2 unit
En Hamzah
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Monash University
Faculty of Health Science
OptiMICE – 1 unit
Mr Ragavan
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

MARDI
Animal Facility
OptiRAT – 1 unit
Pn Hadijah
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Unit UMBI, SPF Facility
ErgoMICE – 1 unit
Dr Khairul Bariah
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Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
PPUKM
ErgoMICE – 1 unit
Dr Then Sue Mian
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Universiti Teknologi MARA
Faculty of Dentistry
OptiRAT – 1 unit
Pn Norasyikin Salleh
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Universiti Teknologi MARA
Animal Lab Care Unit
OptiRAT – 1 unit
OptiMICE – 1 unit
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vellayan
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