Subcutaneous Versus Intraperitoneal Placement of Radiotelemetry Transmitters for Long-term Recording of Electroencephalography

Abstract

H. Lundbeck has been one of the pioneers in the use  of implantable radiotelemetry devices for the collection  of electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic  (EMG) data in rats. This technology  is useful both for sleep research (Vogel et al., 2002:  J. Neurosci. Methods 118, 89-96) and epilepsy  research (Bastlund et al., 2004 J. Neurosci. Methods  138, 65-72). As part of an ongoing process to  improve the ethical and technical aspects of our animal  models with focus on the 3R’s, we are engaged  in continuous dialogue with our in-house veterinary  staff, the equipment manufacturers and other  research groups using the telemetry technology. At  Lundbeck, we had formerly been implanting the  transmitter devices in the intraperitoneal (IP) cavity,  however, we were experiencing a number of difficulties  with this method. For example, this procedure  requires multiple incisions as well as turning  the rat over during surgery, compromising the aseptic  conditions and thereby increasing the risk of  infection. Past experience with subcutaneous (SC)  implantation revealed that this technique may also  lead to infection, seromas and in some cases penetration  of the leads and/or the transmitter body  through the skin. However we have further developed  our surgical procedure for the SC implantation,  optimising and focusing on aseptic surgery  without compromising the quality of the data.