Assessment of an Electronic Mechanical Sensory Threshold Testing Device (RatMet) in Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus).

ABSTRACT: von Frey (vF) monofilaments are used to quantify mechanical hypersensitivity and nociception in rodents; however, this method of testing has been criticized due to inconsistencies in testing methods, filament properties, and nonlinearity. This study compared withdrawal thresholds measured by using vF monofilaments with those of a novel mechanical threshold testing device currently in development (RatMet) in a carrageenan inflammatory model in 9- to 11-wk-old male Wistar rats. Rats were randomly assigned to assessment of mechanical hypersensitivity after intraplantar carrageenan injection by using either vF monofilaments (n = 10) or the RatMet device equipped with 3 sizes of probe tips (0.9 mm [RM0.9], n = 15; 0.5 mm [RM0.5], n = 11; and 0.09 mm [RM0.09], n = 11)

SUBMITTER: Schuster CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7831354 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature