JP5166199B2 - Experimental animal breeding device and its abnormality detection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an experimental animal breeding apparatus and an abnormality detection system for an experimental animal breeding apparatus that can greatly improve the safety of animal breeding.

Conventionally, laboratory animal breeding devices (hereinafter referred to as “isolators”, “vinyl isolators”) for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and breeding experimental animals such as sterile animals, gnotobiotic animals, contaminated animals affected by diseases, and genetically engineered animals (Refer to Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 1, the isolator includes an air supply blower 2, an air supply filter 3, a breeding room 1, and an exhaust filter 4, which are connected to allow air to flow through a hose 14. Has been.
When breeding laboratory animals using such an isolator, it is necessary to be familiar with the structure, operation method, sterilization method, and the like of the isolator.
However, in the isolator 10 shown in FIG. 1, for example, if a trouble occurs in the air supply path such as failure of the air supply blower, disconnection of the hose, clogging of the air supply filter, or breaking of the breeding room, ventilation into the breeding room is caused. It may be blocked, causing serious damage to the animals being raised, causing microbiological contamination of the animals, and causing deaths (suffocation death) of the animals. At present, it is strongly desired to prevent it.

JP 2006-115733 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems and achieve the following objects. That is, the present invention can quickly and surely detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment, and can prevent the occurrence of microbiological contamination and death accidents of the breeding animals without causing serious damage to the breeding animals. It is an object of the present invention to provide an experimental animal breeding apparatus capable of greatly improving safety of the animal and an abnormality detection system for the experimental animal breeding apparatus that can be monitored online 24 hours a year.

  As a result of intensive studies by the present inventors in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, there are a plurality of factors for the cause of the air supply path trouble in the laboratory animal breeding apparatus. Stagnation), and by detecting the decrease in the volume of the breeding room, it is possible to quickly and reliably detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment, and to quickly and reliably detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment. It has been found that the occurrence of microbiological contamination and fatal accidents of domestic animals can be prevented without causing serious damage to the animals.

The present invention is based on the above findings by the present inventors, and means for solving the above problems are as follows. That is,
<1> Air supply means for supplying air into the breeding room, a breeding room held in a predetermined shape inflated by the air supplied from the air supply means, and between the air supply means and the breeding room An experimental animal breeding apparatus comprising: an air supply filter provided; and a sensor attached to the breeding room in order to detect an abnormality in the breeding room.
<2> The laboratory animal breeding apparatus according to <1>, wherein the abnormality in the breeding room is a decrease in the volume of the breeding room.
<3> The experimental animal breeding apparatus according to any one of <1> to <2>, wherein the sensor is a magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch.
<4> Laboratory animal breeding characterized in that an abnormality occurring in the breeding room of the laboratory animal breeding apparatus according to any one of <1> to <3> is detected, and the detected abnormality is displayed and reported. This is an apparatus abnormality detection system.

  According to the present invention, conventional problems can be solved, the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment can be detected promptly and reliably, and the microbial contamination of the breeding animals and the It is possible to provide an experimental animal breeding apparatus that can prevent the occurrence of death accidents and can greatly improve the safety of animal breeding, and an abnormality detection system for the experimental animal breeding apparatus that can be monitored online 24 hours a year.

(Experimental animal breeding equipment)
The experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention comprises an air supply means, a breeding room, an air supply filter, and a sensor, and has an exhaust filter and other members as required.

-Air supply means-
The air supply means is not particularly limited as long as it can supply a sufficient amount of air into the breeding room, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples thereof include an air supply blower and a compressed air blower. . Among these, an air supply blower is particularly preferable in that an air source can be easily created and equipment is simple and small.
The air supply blower is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose.For example, a plate-type electric blower is preferable for individual air supply in the breeding room, and a small blower is used in the case of concentrated air supply. Is preferred.
Note that a fine pressure sensor for measuring the exhaust pressure can be attached to the supply blower so that a failure of the supply blower can be detected.

-Breeding room (chamber)-
The breeding room is not particularly limited with respect to its shape, structure, size, material, etc., as long as it can house experimental animals inside, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose, purpose, etc.
As the shape of the breeding room, it is held in a predetermined shape that is inflated by the air supply from the air supply means, and examples thereof include a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a substantially box shape.
Examples of the structure include a single space structure and a multiple space structure in which a space is divided into a plurality of parts, and may be formed of a single member, or two or more members may be combined. The structure may be different.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said magnitude | size, According to the objective, it can select suitably, For example, there exist height 600mm-700mm, width 1200mm, depth 600mm-800mm, etc.
As the material, a vinyl chloride sheet is particularly preferable in that (1) the work operation can be performed smoothly and the operability is excellent, and (2) the volume reduction of the breeding room is easy to squeeze easily.
The breeding room can be formed in a box shape using a resin plate or the like, and only the work surface can be formed of a vinyl chloride sheet.

-Sensor-
The sensor is attached to the breeding room in order to detect an abnormality in the breeding room.
Examples of abnormalities in the breeding room include failure of the air supply blower, disconnection of the hose, clogging of the air supply filter, and reduction in the volume of the breeding room due to air supply path troubles such as breaking of the breeding room. In addition, the shape change accompanying the volume reduction of the breeding room (shrinking or deformation of the breeding room) is also included. This can be caused by a number of factors that can cause troubles in the air supply route in the laboratory animal breeding device. However, since any of these factors is accompanied by a decrease in the volume of the breeding room (shrinking of the breeding room), the volume of the breeding room is reduced. This is because it is most effective to detect this.

  The sensor is not particularly limited as long as it can detect an abnormality in the breeding room, and examples thereof include a micro switch, a reed switch, a photoelectric sensor, and a fine pressure sensor. Among these, (1) Initial setting of abnormality detection is easy and can be set without individual differences. (2) Light weight (Since it is integrated with the breeding room, it is detected and the breeding room is squeezed if the sensor is heavy. In particular, a magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch is particularly preferable.

As the magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch, for example, a reed switch paired with a magnet and placed in a sensor holder is preferably used. When the magnetic sensor with the built-in reed switch is attached to the breeding room, when the volume of the breeding room is reduced (squeezed), the reed switch and the magnet are separated to operate the sensor, and an abnormality can be detected. A sensor cord is connected to the sensor, and the detected signals are individually displayed on the alarm panel.
In this case, the sensitivity of the sensor can be changed by adjusting the distance (working gap) between the reed switch and the magnet. For example, if you want to increase the detection speed, reduce the working gap. it can. The operating gap is about 13 mm, but is preferably about 5 mm to 8 mm in practical use.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the number of the said sensors, According to the objective, it can select suitably, At least 1 is preferable per said breeding room, and 1 to 4 is more preferable.
The position where the sensor is attached is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected according to the purpose. However, a location that does not hinder various operations (breding, experiments, etc.) in the breeding room is preferable.
The sensor mounting method is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the purpose. For example, a rib is provided at the sensor mounting position in the breeding room, and the sensor holder is clipped and fixed to the rib. And a method of attaching with an adhesive tape.

-Air supply filter-
The air supply filter is provided between the air supply means and the breeding room via a hose, and has a function of purifying air supplied from the air supply means into a sterile state.
As the air supply filter, for example, a Hepa filter is used from the viewpoint of preventing microbial contamination.
The air supply filter is detachably attached and can be periodically replaced.

−Exhaust filter−
The exhaust filter is provided between the breeding room and the outside, and has a function of preventing microbial contamination due to intrusion of outside air.
As the exhaust filter, for example, a Hepa filter is used from the viewpoint of preventing microbial contamination due to intrusion of outside air.
The air supply filter is detachably attached and can be replaced as necessary.

-Other components-
Examples of the other members include a glove, a steryl lock, a hose, and a cage.
A pair of the gloves are attached to the front surface of the breeding room, and operations and experiments can be performed through the gloves.
The steryl lock is a lid made of vinyl chloride provided on the rear surface of the breeding room. The steryl lock can be opened to carry domestic animals and articles.
Domestic animals are kept in cages in the breeding room.

  The experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention can quickly and surely detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment, and can prevent the occurrence of microbiological contamination and fatal accidents of the breeding animals without causing serious damage to the breeding animals. Since the safety of animal breeding can be greatly improved, it is particularly suitable for breeding small animals such as mice, rats and guinea pigs.

Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus used in the present invention as described above, and FIG. 2 is a photograph showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus used in the present invention. .
The experimental animal breeding apparatus 10 includes an air supply blower 2, an air supply filter 3, an animal breeding room 1, and an exhaust filter 4, which are connected via a hose 14 so that air can flow. . In FIG. 2, a plate-type electric blower is used as the air supply blower. A Hepa filter is used as the air supply filter. A Hepa filter is used as the exhaust filter.

FIG. 3 is a photograph showing a state where an animal is being bred using the experimental animal breeding apparatus used in the present invention, and the bred animal is raised in a cage in the breeding room.
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of laboratory animal breeding apparatuses used in the present invention can be arranged side by side in a rack, and can be raised efficiently and safely.
In addition, in the experimental animal breeding apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-4, the sensor for detecting the abnormality of a breeding room is not attached.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention. In the experimental animal breeding apparatus of FIG. 5, a magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch as a sensor 5 is attached to the upper left corner of the breeding room 1. Specifically, it is attached as shown in FIG. 6, and when the volume of the breeding room is reduced (squeezed) due to an air supply failure or the like, the sensor 5 operates to detect an abnormality. In FIG. 5, 6 is a steryl lock, 7 is a globe, 8 is an air supply port to which an air supply filter is attached, and 9 is an exhaust port to which an exhaust filter is attached.
The sensor 5 operates on the principle shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 7, when not operating, the lead piece 31 and the lead piece 32 are separated by the contact portion 33 (OFF state), but as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. When shifted by about 13 mm in the middle right direction, the lead piece 31 and the lead piece 32 are brought into contact with each other by the contact portion 33 by the magnetic force to be turned on.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the sensor 5 includes a reed switch 12, a magnet 13, and a sensor holder 11, and an operation gap D between the reed switch 12 and the magnet 13 in the sensor holder 11 is about 13 mm. It has been adjusted. When the volume of the breeding room decreases and the operating gap D between the reed switch 12 and the magnet 13 exceeds about 13 mm, the sensor 5 is activated to detect an abnormality (volume reduction of the breeding room). it can.

(Anomaly detection system for laboratory animal breeding equipment)
The abnormality detection system for an experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention detects an abnormality that has occurred in the breeding room of the experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention, and displays and reports the detected abnormality.

There are no particular restrictions on the method for displaying and reporting the detected abnormality, and it can be selected as appropriate according to the purpose.For example, there are a method of displaying the alarm individually and a method of sounding a buzzer. The laboratory animal breeding device in which an abnormality has occurred is configured to be found immediately.
The individual abnormality information is centrally managed by a computer in the central management room, and promptly notified to a plurality of persons in charge. Further, at night or on holidays, the abnormality information is transmitted to an external security company in real time and transferred to the registered person's home.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the laboratory animal breeding apparatus 10, the central control room 21, and the external security company 23 are connected to the Internet or a wide area LAN via a communication line such as a telephone line. By constructing an anomaly detection system that can send and receive information, even with a small number of people, it is possible to breed animals with greatly improved safety that can monitor the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment online 24 hours a year .

  As mentioned above, although the experimental animal breeding apparatus and the abnormality detection system of the experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. There is no problem.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1
Using the experimental animal breeding apparatus shown in FIG. 2, as a sensor for detecting volume reduction of the breeding room, (1) a magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch (see FIGS. 5 to 8), (2) a micro switch (manufactured by OMRON Corporation, Main body: V-15 and actuator: VAV-5) and (3) Photoelectric sensors (manufactured by Keyence Corporation, PZ-V33) were attached, and various performances were evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 1.

<Price of sensor>
○: Inexpensive △: Slightly expensive ×: Very expensive

<Detection sensitivity of volume reduction>
○: The detection is reliable and stable △: The detection is reliable, but it also reacts to the movement of the breeding room (bulge side) ×: It reacts sensitively to the movement of the breeding room (not good) It tends to be stable)

<Frequency of false detection>
○: No false detection ×: There is a false detection

<Durability of sensor>
○: Durable ×: Low durability

<Sensor mountability>
○: Sensor mounting is easy △: Sensor mounting is slightly easy ×: Sensor mounting is difficult

From the results of Table 1, as a whole, the magnetic sensor with built-in reed switch is superior to the micro switch and photoelectric sensor as a sensor attached to the breeding room in order to detect abnormalities (volume reduction) in the breeding room. I found out.

  The experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention can quickly and surely detect the occurrence of abnormalities in the breeding environment, and can prevent the occurrence of microbiological contamination and fatal accidents of the breeding animals without causing serious damage to the breeding animals. Since the safety of animal breeding can be greatly improved, it is possible to construct an abnormality detection system for an experimental animal breeding apparatus that can be monitored online 24 hours a day.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus. FIG. 2 is a photograph showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus. FIG. 3 is a photograph showing an animal breeding situation using an experimental animal breeding apparatus. FIG. 4 is a photograph showing a state in which a large number of laboratory animal breeding apparatuses are juxtaposed on a rack. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of an experimental animal breeding apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a photograph showing the sensor installation status. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation principle of the reed switch in the sensor. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the sensor. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an abnormality detection system for an experimental animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Breeding room 2 Air supply blower 3 Air supply filter 4 Exhaust filter 5 Sensor 6 Steryl lock 7 Glove 8 Air supply port 9 Exhaust port 10 Laboratory animal breeding device (isolator)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Holder 12 Reed switch 13 Magnet 14 Hose 21 Central control room 22 Security company 31, 32 Lead piece 33 Contact part

Claims (4)

An air supply means for supplying air into the breeding room, a breeding room inflated by the air supplied from the air supply means and held in a predetermined shape, and provided between the air supply means and the breeding room An air supply filter, and a sensor attached to the breeding room to detect abnormalities in the breeding room ,
A laboratory animal breeding apparatus , wherein the sensor is a magnetic sensor with a built-in reed switch .   The laboratory animal breeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality in the breeding room is a decrease in the volume of the breeding room. The laboratory animal breeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of sensors is one to four per breeding room.   An abnormality detection system for an experimental animal breeding apparatus, characterized by detecting an abnormality that has occurred in the breeding room of the experimental animal breeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and displaying and reporting the detected abnormality.