- An Individually Ventilated Cage (IVC) is a specialized housing system for laboratory animals, designed to improve biosecurity, animal welfare, and research reliability.
- Unlike conventional open cages, IVCs are sealed enclosures equipped with their own controlled air supply, ensuring that each cage has a continuous flow of filtered air. This minimizes the spread of airborne contaminants between cages, thereby protecting animals from cross-infection and maintaining cleaner, more stable microenvironments.
- IVCs are widely used in Specific Pathogen-Free (SPF) and barrier facilities, where strict control of the animal’s microbial and environmental exposure is essential.
- The air management system of an IVC unit is its defining feature. Air is typically supplied and extracted through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, ensuring that both incoming and outgoing air is free from pathogens, allergens, and particulates. Positive or negative pressure can be applied, depending on the research requirements: positive pressure cages prevent external contaminants from entering, whereas negative pressure cages are used when working with infectious agents, containing potential hazards inside. The controlled airflow not only enhances biosecurity but also reduces the spread of allergens to laboratory personnel.
- IVCs also improve animal welfare by providing a more stable and consistent environment. Temperature, humidity, and ammonia levels are better regulated compared to open cages, which helps reduce stress and disease susceptibility. The cages can be equipped with enrichment materials, such as nesting material or shelters, further supporting animal well-being. For researchers, this leads to healthier animals, longer study durations, and more reliable experimental data. In addition, IVC systems reduce cage-to-cage variation, ensuring that observed differences in experiments are less likely to be due to environmental inconsistencies.
- From an operational standpoint, IVCs offer flexibility and scalability. They can be organized into large rack systems that hold hundreds of cages, making efficient use of space while still maintaining isolation between groups. This modular design allows facilities to manage different colonies with varying microbial statuses within the same room. Because the cages are sealed, handling requires specific practices, such as working within laminar flow workstations or biosafety cabinets when opening cages, to prevent contamination. While this adds a layer of complexity, it ensures the integrity of both the animals and the research.
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