Actuelles

2011

 

"Inside View feature about Laboras in Nature Magazine" (July 7, 2011)

Recently, Nature Publishing has interviewed Metris CEO Ronald Bulthuis for an Inside View article about the LABORAS technology. The interview will be placed in the 7th of July issue of their globally distributed and and highly respected Nature Magazine. Ronald Bulthuis talks about the innovations and benefits of the LABORAS technology for the research community. The complete Nature article can be found in our publication section under 2011 publications.

 

"Metris selected for TNO SBIR Feasibility Study" (June 24, 2011)

TNO has selected Metris as one of the 12 companies that will be funded to perform a Feasibility Study as part of the 7th TNO SBIR innovation program. The feasibility study addresses both, the technical and the commercial feasibility to create a system that can record and analyze the development of rat mother and pups. The proposed system (Mo-Chi Tracker) is unique in the sense that the mother rat and her pups together are considered the measuring unit and are monitored and measured simultaneously and non-invasively, so preventing stress. The system will be based on a product idea of Dr. Didima de Groot and colleagues of TNO Zeist. The envisioned system is aimed to address a niche ‘need’ within the developmental and reproductive toxicity field. The current alternative to the Mo-Chi Tracker is human observation and handling which is time consuming and is not cost efficient, and moreover induces stress.
For more information about the Mo-Chi Tracker please fill in the Information Request Form on our website.

---

 

2010

 

Remarkable and high quality grooming detection capability of LABORAS cited in a scientific paper by Dr. Capecchi and colleagues (University of Utah) published in Cell (May 28, 2010)

The University of Utah, Dep. Human Genetics has a LABORAS system with 8 platforms (since 2003) which is frequently used in their research programs. A recent scientific study by University of Utah (Mario Capecchi and colleagues) published in Cell (28th May, 2010) presents interesting insights in the compulsive grooming behavior exhibited by mice with a mutation in the Hoxb8 gene. The study made extensive use of the LABORAS platform to detect the grooming behavior and also distinguish it from the scratching behavior. The study cites LABORAS grooming detection capability as being “remarkably accurate” in comparison to human observation!! Furthermore, the study highlights direct links between immune system dysfunction and behavioral disorders.



In this PaperClip published on the Cell website (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc.), Karen Carniol speaks with Prof. Dr. Mario Capecchi (2007 Nobel price winner) about the hematopoietic origins of compulsive behavior. Interview with Prof. Dr. Mario Capecchi

 

"New developments Laboras" (April 5, 2010)

Metris is working on several new modules for Laboras that will further expand the multi functional capabilities of the Laboras technology. The following new modules will be introduced:
- Sociability Cage (availability: now)
- Light-Dark Cage (availability: June 2010)
- Scratching detection in rats (availability: June 2010)

More information about our on going developments can be found in the "In Development" section of our website.

---

 

2009

 

"Metris and Porsolt join forces to promote preclinical screening using LABORAS technology " (November 5, 2009)

Metris and Porsolt join forces to promote preclinical screening using LABORAS, a non-invasive technology for automatic and comprehensive in vivo characterization of drug candidates.  Under this alliance, Porsolt will offer CRO services utilising the innovative in vivo screening platform to its clients. The Laboras system enables the measurement of multiple behavioral pharmacodynamic endpoints in a single experiment utilising a high throughput non-invasive system. More information can be found in the press release.

 Press release

 

"Metris launches the Sociality Cage for LABORAS" (January 20, 2009)

 

To investigate the complex genetics of social behaviors, mouse models of social dysfunction have been designed that are relevant to human disease symptoms. LABORAS provides an objective methodology to use these mouse models and score the social interactions.

The design of the Sociality Cage allows quantitating preference of a mouse for spending time with a stranger mouse vs. empty environment, as well as preference for a newly introduced unfamiliar mouse vs. a familiar mouse.
The Sociality Cage is a three compartments cage with small "doors" that allow the animal to move freely from one compartment to another. The doors can be closed to control the experiment. In the left and right compartments there are small cages, designed for the so called "stranger mouse".
LABORAS automatically calculates the number of transisitions from the center to the left and right compartment, the durations in every compartment, the latency times to move from the center to left and right compartment and also the duration in and number of transitions to the contact zone (the area around the small cages with the stranger or familiar mouse)

The automatic tracking of the mouse by LABORAS is demonstrated in the following movies
(mouse starts in the central room, familiar mouse in left compartment; no mouse in right compartment):

   Sociality Cage Movie #1

   Sociality Cage Movie #2

The Sociality Cage concept might be used in studying neuropsychiatric diseases such as autism, William's syndrome, social phobias and schizophrenia.

The study concept is based on the following publication:
 Automated apparatus for quantitation of social approach behaviors in mice

More details will be made available on our website on short notice.

---