Carim Muroidean facility

The Muroidean Facility within CARIM (CARIM-MF) is a dedicated core laboratory for phenotyping of small animal models.

With a team of five zoological technicians, we have longstanding expertise in a variety of disease models and physiological measurements. We offer:
• Guidance and advice from concept to completion
• Tailored solutions
• Competitive pricing
• Guaranteed quality
• A variety of cerebrovascular, cardiac and renal disease models

In addition to carrying out experiments, our technicians can help you to design experiments, analyze data, perform basic histological analyses, expedite DEC approval and obtain reliable budget estimates. For requests or additional information, please contact: carim-fm@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Cardiac function

Assessment of cardiac function
High resolution cardiac echography is routinely performed using a Vevo 2100 system, allowing measurement of cardiac dimension, cardiac function and blood flow pattern.

Surgical procedures

Surgical procedures
Left panel: a constrictor placed around the thoracic aorta leads to presure overload hypertrophy. Right panel: ligation of the left anterior descending artery leads to a large anteriar infarct

Pump function

In vivo assessment of organ perfusion
Simultaneous recording of renal, mesenteric and hindquarter flow using small Doppler flow probes.

Left ventricular function
Recording of aortic (left side) and left ventricular (right side) pressure using a microtip pressure sensor. 

In vivo recording of hemodynamic function. Left panel: ambulatory measurement of systematic blood pressure. Middle panel: simultaneous measurement of cardiac output (CO), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and stroke volume (SV) during anesthesia.

Cardiac electrophysiology

Characterization of cardiac electrophysiology
Left panel: recording of the standard surface electrocardiogram in mice, in comparison to the human ECG (upper trace). Middle panel: atrial burst stimulation by transesophageal pacing, inducing an episode of atrial fibrillation in a transgenic mouse, but not in its wildtype counterpart. Right panel: activation sequence of the left and right atrium during pacing of the left atrium, recorded in a perfused heart using a voltage-sensitive dye.

Facilities & Equipment

Overview of experimental facilities
Clockwise from top left: surgical theatre, surgical intervention, high-resolution optical mapping of perfused hearts, tissue assessment, system for echocardiography.

Models
Fully developed disease models include: 
• Myocardial infarction
• Pressure overload
• Ischemic stroke
• Nephropathy(diabetic)
• Arterial and venous thrombosis
• Atherosclerosis