Small changes, big differences: Collaborative refinements in animal research (2025)

Onions, L., WIlkinson, G.

Abstract

Our unit opened in 2017, during the procurement of new equipment we had the opportunity to purchase a digital ventilated rack system from Tecniplast UK. The cages are referred to as the Digitally Ventilated Cage or DVC. This system uses the data collected by sensors below the cage to flag when to clean out based on the change in an electromagnetic signal. To have this functionality we first needed to create an algorithm during a learning phase. It highlights how small refinements in animal care and communication practices at the University of Leicester have led to significant improvements in Animal Welfare, research quality and staff collaboration. The collaborative efforts between technical staff, Named Veterinary Surgeons (NVS) and researchers, demonstrate the power of open dialogue and shared responsibility in advancing the 3Rs principles in laboratory animal science.