Ugo Basile has released an infrared range of mazes to track normal nocturnal behaviour of mice or rats, without use of visual cues.
Constructed in special black “IR transparent” Perspex, the mazes appear black to visible light. This robust material is used to make the maze floors and/or walls because it provides excellent visibility for IR transmission.
Each complete IR system also includes IR camera and advanced tracking software, ANY-maze. Systems enable accurate tracking of naturally nocturnal rodent movements in low-light or completely dark environments for new insights into working spatial memory.
Natural behaviour, no disruptions
By studying rodent behavior in darkness, researchers can create an environment that is more natural for the animal and reduce potential stressors, such as exposure to bright light or disruption of the animal’s sleep-wake cycle.
Ambient lights in the lab such as flickering neon lights will not cause any interference with video-tracking.
Who uses THE IR mazes?
- Researchers concerned about ambient light, or those studying nocturnal behaviour or anyone requiriing clear detection of head, tail and center of the animal
- Anyone who requires a precise contour of the animal such as NOR (Novel object recognition) research. IR tracking ensures there is no confusion of head vs tail.
The Complete Infrared System
Choose your maze. Add tracking sotware, IR camera and IR illuminator.
THE IR MAZE RANGE
- Sociability Apparatus for Mice and Rats –
3-Chambered Social Test - Light/Dark Box for Mice and Rats
- Radial Maze 8-Arm for Mice and Rats
- T-Maze for Mice and Rats
- Y-Maze for Mice and Rats
- Elevated Zero-Maze (EZM) for Mice and Rats
- Elevated Plus Maze for Mice and Rats
- Open field square
- Open field circular
Custom mazes also available. A wider range is also available in Ugo Basile’s popular high contrast, non reflective surfaces for monitoring activity in areas with normal lab lighting.
ANY-maze tracking sofware and IR camera
Highly advanced, comprehensive video-tracking system enables study of behavior in a reliable, consistent way including over long time periods.
Unrivalled depth of features combined with a simple, familiar design, to provide automated testing in virtually any behavioral test.
Comprehensive training available for fast setup.
LUX backlight for darkness illumination
The LUX Infrared (IR) illuminator provides uniform illumination of mazes. When activated, it emits a beam of IR light that is invisible to the human eye, but which can be detected by IR cameras. This allows the capture of very clear, extremely high contrast videos of animals in low light or even in complete darkness.
Available in 3 sizes, LUX illuminators are positioned below the translucent Perspex mazes.
