Stainless steel swivel – 5 channels

This swivel has five channels of low dead volume and as much turning torque as the same 1-channel models. Historically and practically, applications with three or more channels are generally impossible for a rodent to rotate/swivel and can have large dead volumes or cross leakage problems. To solve these problems, Instech kept the seals tight but added a motor to assist rotation. A controller detects the animal’s movement and drives the rotating core to follow it. Unlike switch-based systems, this system has proportional control, allowing fine, continuous movement to minimize stress on the animal. The result in a nutshell: the torque felt by the animal is similar to that of a single-channel swivel. The control unit mounts on the vertical part of the counterbalanced arm and is powered by a 12 VDC adapter (an analog signal is available as an output to monitor motor activity). The pivoting arm is counterbalanced to minimize forces on the animal. Although the assist circuit is responsive enough to allow a mouse to rotate it, use with mice is not recommended because of the negligible weight of the animal compared to the swivel. The MCS/5A has four low-dead volume microdialysis channels coated to protect neurotransmitters and a 22ga infusion channel. Use with MC015/10 microdialysis tubing connectors.