Hot/Cold Plate - Screening of Thermal Hyperalgesia/Allodynia

Name: Hot/Cold Plate - Screening of Thermal Hyperalgesia/Allodynia
Brand: Ugo Basile
SKU: 35300

Product Code:35300

Category: Pain and Inflammation

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° to 65°C and animal holders of different heights are available.

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Detailed description +-

Background

Motor (or vocal) responses are normally the endpoints for thermal sensitivity tests and this has been true for hot temperatures and cold temperatures to study hyperalgesia and allodynia.
More recently, the introduction of tamping devices, capable to increase the temperature from a starting point to an end point at given time rate, have largely improved the ability to differentiate between hyperalgesic and allodynic responses.
The hot/cold plate method is a very traditional one and had the advantage of having unrestrained animals, however, a large variety in scoring methods can be found in the literature, and it depends on the visual scoring of the experimenter herself.
Some labs use the first hind paw lick as test endpoints; others use the frequency of licks over a certain time window, other use jumping or vocalizations.

System components and main features

The Ugo Basile Hot/Cold Plate system comes complete with:

An electronic unit with touch screen to set all parameters and save data
The Perspex animal restrainer
USB port to save data and export them in CSV files
A NEW keypad to score endpoints or any other stereotyped behavior (bluetooth optional)
A temperature ranges from -5° to 65°C
A room ambient temperature sensor
A very silent operation, even when the Peltier elements work at full speed to cool down the device quickly
A NEW software on the touch screen with several new features, e.g. temperature in °C and °F, an online, an integrated help section, a stop or go option for the end of the ramp mode, a graph showing the plate temperature in real time and a new result screen which is clearer and more comprehensive
The new software includes all the animal behaviors that can be scored with the 10 keys available
A PC software to build custom temperature ramps and populate your animal vivarium

Additional features include:

TTL input/outputs for start/stop and mode command
USB port for PC connection
COM port for maintenance purposes
Ethernet port to connect the instrument directly to the institution/company LAN to retrieve experimental data and load experimental parameters without the need for the USB drive (which is not allowed in some organisations for data security reasons).

Features & Benefits +-

Feature	Benefit
Fixed, ramping and complex ramp temperature modes	Flexibility for performing many types of pain experiments from allodynia to hyperalgesia
Keypad and pedal for scoring pain animal responses and stereotyped behaviors	Possibility to use the preset 10 keys or modify them (licking, scratching, jumping, grooming, vocalization, rearing, immobility, climbing, shivering, twitching) and save the results in the electronic unit
Broad range of temperatures (-5° to -65°)	Allows to perform any sort of thermal sensitivity experiment, including severe cold allodynia
Ambient temperature sensor is placed outside of the device	Improved system and thermal accuracy
Silent mode of operation or the air dissipation system	Less disturbance to the animal
Control unit and USB key saving	No need to connect a PC
Automatic conversion of data into CSV files for the USB stick	Possibility to open files in Excel
PC software	Possibility to populate your vivarium of animals and to build complex temperature ramps

Specifications +-

General
Commands	4,3 inches touch-screen (Resistive)
Read-out	4,3 inches touch-screen (Resistive), PC
Operation
Plate temperature range	-5.0°C to +65°C (in 0.1°C steps)
Accuracy	+/- 0.2°C
Mode	Fixed temperature, Ramp (increasing or decreasing), Silent, Fast Ramp, Custom Ramp
Experiment duration	Max 999.9 seconds
Data Acquisition	Via X-PAD software (included)
Data Portability	By USB flash drive (included)
Data Input	Personalized protocol
Data Output	Results table in .csv
TTL Output	Temperature, Start, Stop

Application +-

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 below, 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 on-line, during the test.

Ordering information +-

35300 Hot/Cold Plate - What's in the box?
35300-001	Hot/Cold Plate, with USB output, USB flash drive (MY22 model), without animal enclosure
35300-006	Hot/Cold Plate USB wired numeric key-pad (only use with 35300)
35100-286	Mouse/Rat Restrainer for Hot/Cold Plate, height 25cm
37215-303	Pedal Switch, complete with cable and connector
E-AU 101	Memory Key, including the user manual and X-pad software
	Power cable according to your Country
Please note: slight variations in the coloration of the plates may occur. This is due to the manufacturing process and does not affect the procedure or the outcome of the experiment in any way.
Options
35150-002	Additional Hot Plate
35100-285	Animal Restrainer for Hot Plate, 31 cm height
35100-287	Mouse/Rat Restrainer for Hot/Cold Plate, customized height, please specify
35300-005	Hot/Cold Plate wireless USB key-Pad (only use with 35300)
35250-003	Set of Special Tubes and Catwalk for Mouse, for Thermal Preference set-up
35260-002	Set of Special Tubes and Catwalk for Rat, for Thermal Preference set-up
35300-UBC12	UB Care 12 - Additional hardware warranty extension 12 months for Hot/Cold Plate
35300-UBC24	UB Care 24 - Additional hardware warranty extension 24 months for Hot/Cold Plate