John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Local Health District

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Epidural Intracranial Pressure Measurement in Rats Using a Fiber-optic Pressure Transducer

Lucy Murtha¹, Damian McLeod¹, Neil Spratt¹

¹Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle

A novel technique to record the pressures within the skull is described. The minimally invasive method uses a fibre-optic pressure sensing system to accurately measure intracranial pressure (ICP) in anaesthetized rats without causing significant brain trauma. The technique may be used in a wide range of experimental models.

Medicine

Short-Duration Hypothermia Induction in Rats using Models for Studies examining Clinical Relevance and Mechanisms

Daniel Omileke¹, Steven Bothwell¹, Daniel J. Beard¹, Nikolce Mackovski¹, Sara Azarpeykan¹, Kirsten Coupland¹, Adjanie Patabendige¹, Neil Spratt^1,2

¹School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, ²Department of Neurology, John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Local Health District

This article describes two methods of whole-body short-duration hypothermia induction in rats. The first, rapid induction method, employs active cooling using fans and ethanol spray for a rapid decrease in temperature. The second method is a gradual cooling method. This is achieved using the combination of isoflurane anesthesia and the reduction of temperature settings on the homeothermic heat mat. This results in a gradual decrease in core body temperature without the use of any external cooling devices.