and may actually increase associated potential risks.

RAIR HD and RAIR IsoSystem™ Ventilated Racks for housing rodents.

Lab Products, llc. systems provide a positive (cage) and negative (rack) airflow system at the same time, all of the time with Allerzone™. Animals, people, laboratory equipment and the integrity of research studies are protected with a negative pressure rack containing positive pressure cages.

The Lab Products, llc. air supply and air exhaust systems operate totally independent of each other, as the supply is “coupled” and the exhaust is “decoupled” from the cages.

This is in contrast with other IVC systems where both the air supply and air exhaust is coupled directly to each cage. Such systems require a greater number of cage Air Changes per Hour (ACH) and a strict degree of controlling cage air exhaust airflow rates in proportion to supply airflow rates. Cages designed for directly coupled air supply and air exhaust may be subject to blockage of air apertures located on IVC racks/cages, that connect coupled air supply and air exhaust with each individual cage. Such air apertures may be subject to inherent occlusion, as recently cited in a scientific study published in 2014 and support data of a poster presentation published during a science conference in 2012. Blockage of coupled air apertures may affect airflow of a cage or cages that may lead to inconsistent airflow rates and pressure variances among compared cages. Occlusion of cage level airflow apertures may result in the need for such as;

• increased IVC rack (and rack components) inspection, disassembly and reassembly

• increased IVC cage (and cage components) inspection, disassembly and reassembly

• increased IVC rack and cage decontamination and washing SOP’s

• increased HEPA, pre-filter and cage filter change frequency

• increased energy and other resource consumption

• PPE assessment

Especially if not readily observed and routinely addressed.

The Lab Products, llc. exhaust system provides an effective reduction of personnel exposure to animal dander, moisture and allergens while at the same time the animals receive HEPA filtered fresh air from the supply air system.

Deciding whether cages for a specific rack should be positive or negative can be confusing and may lead to or even cause costly errors. Such decisions are eliminated for animals housed within Lab Products, llc. ventilated racks thanks to a protective HEPA filtered air supply environment and patented AllerZone™ technology ensuring, ventilated racks remain “negative” in respect to the room.

Lab Products, llc. Positive Cage:

Lab Products, llc. ventilated Micro-Isolator® cages help safeguard against cross contamination, provide a healthier environment for study animals and helps protect the integrity of research.

And at the same time;

Lab Products, llc. Negative Rack:

Limits personnel exposure to allergens, captures expelled cage air and helps protect the integrity of research.

Additional questions or comments related to this posting? Please contact us and we’ll be happy to respond.

© 2015 Bio Medic Corporation. Micro-Isolator is a registered trademark and IVC FAQ, Allerzone and RAIR IsoSystem are trademarks of Lab Products, llc.

 

Our next question:

7. How well balanced is the airflow rate of the Lab Products IVC systems?
The Lab Products, llc. air dock device has received certification from the United States Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for airflow consistency. Lab Products, llc. is the only ventilated housing manufacturer that has …

Come back for the answer to this question.