Accurate, non-invasive physiological monitoring is key to reproducible pre-clinical research studies. While the Rodent Surgical Monitor (RSM+) system has helped many researchers monitor the standard vital signs ECG, respiration, and core temperature in their experimental animals, oxygen saturation – a critical clinical parameter – has often been overlooked or under utilized. Now, a newly launched platform changes that. Featuring patent-pending ECG electrodes with integrated pulse oximetry sensors on the platform with redesigned electronics for cleaner, more reliable data, this next-generation system sets a new standard for precision monitoring during procedures.

Clinically, oxygen saturation or SpO2 measurements are made routinely because it directly reflects upon how effectively oxygen is being transported via the blood from the lungs to the entire body. It is a key indicator of respiratory and cardiovascular function used to monitor patients while under anesthesia, confirm and assess respiratory or cardiac conditions, etc. Accurate oxygen saturation monitoring can help prevent organ damage, improve patient outcomes, and support timely clinical interventions.

Even though used extensively clinically, oxygen saturation has not been routinely measured in preclinical studies. However, with changing perceptions to increase monitoring and reproducibility of studies, researchers have started to opt for this measurement. The Indus Instruments RSM+ system has a commercially available external thigh clip sensor for SpO2 measurement. However, clip SpO2 sensors depend on proper placement at the desired physical location on the animal (thigh, paw, tail, etc.), proper orientation to minimize respiration artifact, and the need to shave hair at the site of measurement are some of the key requirements. To mitigate and/or minimize these issues, Indus Instruments now offers a newly launched platform (RSMoX) that offers pulse oximetry sensors integrated into ECG electrodes that will detect oxygen saturation in the paw in either mice or rats, greatly reducing placement time and improving the reliability and reproducibility of SpO2 measurements.

Oxygen saturation measurements were obtained from the paw with RSMoX system were compared to and validated with the commercially available, Indus external thigh clip sensor and StarrLife (Mouse Ox) thigh clip sensor at baseline (normoxia) and during hypoxia induced using nitrogen gas. The results demonstrated no significant differences between the measurements of the ECG electrode paw sensor versus the clip sensors. The following presentation showcases/illustrates the results of this study as well as demonstrating other features/capabilities of the RSMoX system.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the importance of comprehensive, non-invasive physiological monitoring – including oxygen saturation – for reproducible animal research outcomes.
2. Learn about the new features of the redesigned Rodent Surgical Monitoring Platform, including patent-pending integrated pulse oximetry sensors.
3. Examine validation results from this new system and how it compared to a commonly used system in the field.