Creating a Stable Short-term Housing Environment for Rabbits in a Cargo Van

Abstract

Millimeter waves (MMW) have broad applications in highdata-rate communication systems (40 to 48 GHz), automotive radar sensors (77 GHz), high-resolution sensors for airport security (100 GHz), and spectroscopy (20 to 80 GHz). 4,6,14,21 Moreover, the recent trend in wireless communications is to use MMW with frequencies greater than 100 GHz (>100 GHz MMW) to transfer larger amounts of digital data. 1 The rapid development of technology has raised concerns about the possible influence of MMW on human health. We previously investigated elevations in ocular temperature after the exposure of Dutch-belted rabbit eyes to quasi-and millimeter waves (18 to 40 GHz) and acute ocular damage caused by 40 to 95 GHz MMW. 9-11 We found that exposure to MMW induced a rapid elevation in ocular temperature, causing various types and levels of thermal injury. 9-11 MMW at frequencies exceeding 100 GHz are speculated have different thermal damage thresholds. 8 However, few scientific data regarding the effects of >100 GHz MMW on eyes are available. Acute ocular damage induced by >100 GHz MMW is difficult to determine because of limitations in generating sufficient output power to cause acute thermal effects. We, therefore, used gyrotrons at the Research Center for Development of Far-infrared Region (University of Fukui, Japan), which can generate MMW at frequencies ranging from 162 to 265 GHz, with a maximum output power exceeding 1 kW. 19 Because the gyrotron system is composed of large and immobile equipment, the rabbits had to be brought to the gyrotron facility to perform experiments. However, no laboratory animal facility for rabbits was available at that site, with the nearest one being 6.3 miles away at another UF campus. Because rabbits are prone to transportation stress, it was vital to keep them on-site during research. 18 It was not possible to build a new animal facility for this project alone. Therefore, an alternative housing system was needed that provided a stable and adequate environment for laboratory rabbits, was easy to set up for a short period (1 wk), and was affordable. This study describes the creation of a stable and adequate environment for laboratory rabbits at the gyrotron facility that allowed the performance of reliable and reproducible animal tests. A suitable environment was created in a cargo van rented from a local agency, without changing the original configuration of the vehicle. Environmental factors were monitored to ensure that they met the criteria for conventional animal facilities. The adaptation period required by the laboratory rabbits was also assessed.

Clinical Course of High-Frequency Millimeter-Wave (162 GHz) Induced Ocular Injuries and Investigation of Damage Thresholds

“…They were housed individually in stainless steel rabbit housing cages kept in a cargo van as short-term animal housing. Before starting this experiment, we confirmed that the cargo van animal housing did not differ from a conventional animal facility, at least for short-term housing [14].…”