Automated Inhalation Toxicology Exposure System and Method

• US 20080047554A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: US Department of The Army (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: US Department of The Army (Government of the United States of America)
• Inventors: Roy, Chad, Hartings, Justin
• Application Number:
  US11/929,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20080047554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 128/203.15
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/031 Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/40 Animals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/42 for laboratory research
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0806 by whole-body plethysmography measuring blood flow using plethysmography A61B5/0295; impedance plethysmography A61B5/053; measuring volume of the body or parts thereof A61B5/1073
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4845 Toxicology, e.g. by detection of alcohol, drug or toxic products A61B5/4848 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61D 7/04 Devices for anaesthetising animals by gases or vapours; Inhaling devices

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes but is not limited to: conditioning an inhalent environment; exposing a first organism to the inhalent environment for a first-organism duration of time; and exposing a second organism to the inhalent environment for a second-organism duration of time. In addition to the foregoing, other method embodiments are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present application. In one or more various embodiments, related systems include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting the foregoing-referenced method embodiments; the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect the foregoing-referenced method embodiments depending upon the design choices of the system designer. In one embodiment, a system includes but is not limited to: an inhalent manifold; a first independently-controllable exposure unit coupled to said inhalent manifold; a second independently-controllable exposure unit coupled to said inhalent manifold; and an exposure control system operably coupled to either or both said first independently-controllable exposure unit and said second independently-controllable exposure unit.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

automatically conditioning an inhalent environment to achieve a predetermined environmental condition;

distributing to a first organism the conditioned inhalent environment for a first-organism duration of time; and

distributing to a second organism the conditioned inhalent environment for a second-organism duration of time; and

wherein the first organism and the second organism are exposed to the same conditioned inhalant environment after the inhalent environment has been completely conditioned.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

introducing an inhalent into an inhalent manifold.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said introducing an inhalent into an inhalent manifold comprises:

introducing the inhalent into an inhalent intake plenum operably coupled with an inner manifold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

monitoring at least one environmental condition selected from an environmental-condition group including temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and inhalent concentration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

adjusting at least one environmental condition selected from an environmental-condition group including temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and inhalent concentration.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said distributing to a second organism comprises:

coupling the inhalent environment to a second apertured connector containing at least a part of the second organism for the second-organism duration of time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing an inhalent or exposure study, wherein said performing the inhalent or exposure study comprises said automatically conditioning, said distributing to a first organism, and said distributing to a second organism.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising distributing clean air to at least one of the first organism and the second organism during conditioning of the inhalent environment to a predetermined environmental condition.

9. A system comprising:

means for automatically conditioning an inhalent environment to achieve a predetermined environmental condition;

means for automatically distributing to a first organism the conditioned inhalent environment for a first-organism duration of time; and

means for automatically distributing to a second organism the conditioned inhalent environment for a second-organism duration of time;

wherein both distributing means provide exposure to the same conditioned inhalent environment after the predetermined environmental condition is achieved.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

means for introducing an inhalent into an inhalent manifold.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said means for introducing an inhalent into an inhalent manifold comprises:

means for introducing the inhalent into an inhalent intake plenum operably coupled with an inner manifold.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

means for monitoring at least one environmental condition selected from an environmental-condition group including temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and inhalent concentration.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for automatically conditioning an inhalent environment comprises:

means for adjusting at least one environmental condition selected from an environmental-condition group including temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and inhalent concentration.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for automatically distributing to a second organism comprises:

means for coupling the inhalent environment to a second apertured connector containing at least a part of the second organism for the second-organism duration of time.

15. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

means for performing an inhalent or exposure study, wherein said means for performing the inhalent or exposure study comprises said means for automatically conditioning, said means for distributing to a first organism, and said means for distributing to a second organism.

16. The system according to claim 9, further comprising means for distributing clean air to at least one of the first organism and the second organism while the inhalent environment is being conditioned to a predetermined environmental condition.

17. A method for performing an inhalation study using at least two organisms, the method comprising:

automatically conditioning an inhalent environment to achieve a predetermined environmental condition prior to distributing the inhalent environment to the organisms;

distributing the conditioned inhalent environment to a first organism for a first-organism duration of time;

distributing the conditioned inhalent environment to a second organism for a second-organism duration of time; and

prior to distributing the conditioned inhalent environment to the first organism and the second organism, distributing clean air to the first organism and the second organism; and

wherein the first organism and the second organism are exposed to the same conditioned inhalant environment after the inhalent environment has been completely conditioned.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the inhalent environment includes at least one material under testing.