HabiTrak: low-cost monitoring of animal health and activity in any home cage

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HabiTrak is a suite of thermographic and environmental sensors in a small, wireless package designed to be placed inside the home cage. State-of-the-art embedded systems control continuous unsupervised data collection and export data directly to the cloud. With a device as small as a deck of playing cards, battery-powered and mounted magnetically to the ceiling of any home cage, researchers can monitor and record:

  • Animal position & movement

  • Circadian activity

  • Body surface temperature

  • Birth/pup detection

  • Cage atmosphere pressure, temperature, & humidity

  • eCO2 & volatile organic compound concentration

  • Ambient light intensity

  • Light/dark cycle disruptions

  • Cage handling events

  • Bedding condition

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Development of HabiTrak is supported by a Small-Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant R43MH119734 from the National Institute of Mental Health.