Hot/Cold Plate 2022

The Hot/Cold Plate test has been the gold standard test for thermal pain tests in rodents for decades. Through the years the devices have been improving and the techniques have become more sophisticated, adding to constant temperature methods also other ones.

The Ugo Basile Hot/Cold Plate test includes all the latest technologies necessary to run constant temperature, linear ramping temperature (toward hot or toward cold) and complex temperature ramps thanks to the included X-Pad software.

Moreover, the new model includes a keypad (cabled or optional Bluetooth) to score pain endpoints or stereotyped behaviors. 

Temperature range goes from -5°C to 65°C and animal holders of different heights are available.

The advantages of the hot/cold plate are the broad temperature range and hence the possibility to assess both hot and cold allodynia and hyperalgesia. In the last year the tendency has been to use the increasing/decreasing mode more and more frequently to differentiate nociceptor sub-types and hence detect both hyperalgesia and allodynia.
A typical application is during inflammatory pain, as well as in neuropathic pain and to test compounds with anti-nociceptive effects, for example after chronic constriction injury (CCI) or other methods.
The test is mainly used in rodents, but we have seen use in drosophila as well (see literature Massingham et al. 2021).
The new model which incorporates now, at no extra cost, the keypad allows for scoring of several behaviors, which before was possible only by videotaping and reviewing the videos, while now it can all be done online, during the test.

• A new numeric cabled USB keypad has been added as standard to score animal behavior during the test. This external device will have a long cable to let researcher to be far away enough to avoid disturbing the animal during the test.
• An optional Bluetooth USB keypad is available to avoid cable connection.
• Device ventilation has been modified to achieve a better airflow, faster change in temperature and a quieter operation. The device is now more silent than before.
• The room ambient temperature sensor has been positioned outside the main unit box, at the rear part to avoid internal temperature generation affecting the readings. The room temperature value is therefore more accurate.

• The touch screen software has been completed re-designed for a better user experience
• The support of the new external key-pad provide the possibility to edit the animal behavior that are inserted as a text in the result file.
• During all test mode a graph is showing the set temperature and the actual temperature of the plate.
• Ramp end mode function has been added to let researcher decide to stop or not the heating/cooling of the plate, in order to keep or not the temperature and therefore saving time for higher throughput.
• The temperature can now be displayed in °C or °F.
• Result file has been re-designed to include endpoints (from the pedal) and event start and stop (duration) from the keypad.
• An integrated help is now present into the touch screen software.

• 1 Hot/cold plate control unit.
• 1 Hot/cold plate cylindrical animal enclosure, perspex made. (For mouse and rat)
• 1 Hot/cold plate grey plastic lid.
• 1 Hot/cold plate pedal switch.
• 1 Hot/cold plate USB external numeric keypad. (Cabled as standard, wireless as optional)
• 1 Power cord according to your country outlet.
• 1 USB pen drive containing:
  • The instruction manual.
  • The quality control and warranty certificate.

• 35300 Hot/Cold Plate with Keypad
• 35150-002 Additional Hot Plate
• 35250-003 Set of Tubes/Catwalk for Thermal Place Preference
• 35350/35360 Thermal Place Preference
• 35300-005 Wireless numeric keypad

Join us on Friday 30th September for the official product launch and presentation of the new Ugo Basile Hot/Cold Plate.

About the webinar:

• Watch live how to run an experiment from start to finish
• Discover all the features of the new model
• Q&A session at the and of the presentation