Please note that SCIREQ offices will be closed during the holidays. Our last day is Tuesday December 24, 2013 with limited staff available, and we will be back hard at work on Thursday January 2, 2014.
Should you have any questions before then, we would be happy to assist you.
All of us at SCIREQ wish you a joyful holiday season along with health and success in the New Year!
Our team continuously works to ensure that the flexiVent provides the most accurate and reproducible data. Our latest software development, flexiWare 7.5, introduces a major refinement to dose response data. The software estimates the dose delivered to the subject and automatically generates a dose response curve. Plotting against delivered dose, rather than concentration, standardizes the collected data. This also allows for accurate comparisons between groups using different equipment or nebulization protocols.
Since the release of flexiWare 7.5, we have continued to refine the dose response. Our most recent improvement allows for characterization of losses due to rain-out when calculating the dose delivered to the subject. By characterizing individual configurations, we are able to determine the fraction of nebulized compound that reaches the subject during nebulization. With all of these refinements, we continue to bring further accuracy and reproducibility to typical dose response studies.
Want to get this feature? Purchase our latest software and become eligible for free software upgrades for a whole year! Contact our team at [email protected].
Please note that our Canadian office will be open during this time.
One flexiVent, four subjects.
The MSX (Multi-Subject Extension) is designed for lung mechanics assessment in up to four anesthetized subjects in parallel. The MSX supplements the accurate lung mechanics measurements that are relied-on with the flexiVent with a high throughput system that will increase the efficiency of your studies.
We invite you to watch the Webinar below, recorded by our flexiVent product specialist, as an in depth introduction to the MSX. Enjoy!Email: [email protected]
Phone: Toll free (North America) 1.877.572.4737 or 514.286.1429
You can also visit our website to create your own TechNet account and gain access to a variety of flexiVent documentation.
Are you in the process of preparing a grant application to initiate or expand your research? Our team is happy to provide information, quotations and references for inclusion in the proposal. Contact us at [email protected] to request the details you need to submit in time for your deadline.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope the best for your application!
While the flexiVent is typically utilized to assess the mechanical properties of the lower airways, it can also be used for accurate measurements of nasal obstruction. As previously reported in respected scientific journals1-3, this approach provides a means to reliably and directly assess upper airway resistance in disease models.
Similar to respiratory mechanics measurements of the lower airways, the flexiVent uses the forced oscillation technique to deliver a small amplitude test signal to the upper airways. Nasal resistance is then derived by the operating software from the pressure-flow relationship as described in the Single Compartment Model. At the moment, these measurements are described in allergic rhinitis pre-clinical research, one of the most common allergic diseases worldwide affecting people of all ages.
Our customer service team is happy to provide additional details or discuss how these measurements may compliment your research application. We invite you to contact us at [email protected] for further information.
It's Respiratory Care week! Thank you RRTs and all of those involved in Respiratory Care! Take time this week to spread awareness, support people living with respiratory conditions and educate yourself about preventive measures.
Read more at the AARC website: www.aarc.org/rcweek.
We would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian customers and colleagues. May you all have a wonderful long weekend with your family and friends.
Please note that our Montreal office will be closed on Monday October 14th for this holiday. Our SCIREQ USA office will remain open and you can reach us at 514.286.1429 or 877.572.4737 (toll-free in Canada & US) or by email at [email protected] and [email protected].
"E-cigarettes have become a billion dollar industry, with one in five North Americans trying the product1". However, the question of how safe the battery operated devices are still remains unanswered even a decade after the product entered the market. The main reason for that is that there is insufficient research available to conclusively determine its long term safety on the user and environment. That situation could however change since researchers can now effectively and reproducibly study the impacts of e-cigarettes using the inExpose system.
E-cigarettes of various dimensions can easily be integrated to the inExpose system to generate and deliver an unparalleled number of reproducible exposure profiles applicable to in vitro as well as in vivo studies. We invite you to watch the video below that showcases, from generation to delivery site, an example of how exposure to e-cigarette mist could be experimentally conducted.
The inExpose system is a computer-controlled, compact inhalation exposure system that offers turnkey solutions for aerosols, cigarette smoke, atmospheric pollutants or test compounds. It features a low-internal volume construction to minimize unintentional dilutions, thereby allowing for rapid achievements and changes of desired test atmosphere concentrations.
To find out how the inExpose can help you advance your research, please contact one of our dedicated team members toll free at +1.877.572.4737 or by email at [email protected] .
1Hermiston, & Steele (2013). How safe are e-cigarettes? CTV British Columbia Retrieved from http://bc.ctvnews.ca/how-safe-are-e-cigarettes-1.1450448
The cordial format of the workshop permitted direct, one-on-one interactions with presenters and instructors. Participants also had an opportunity to get first-hand experience working with the flexiVent system while learning how to gather even more pertinent data for their research.
We are already looking forward to the next workshop. Join us next time!
The latest version of our Study Management and Experiment Control Software, flexiWare 7.5.2 is a service pack structured to offer you the choice of having the new Dose Response View while also benefiting from an upgrade that adds several new and exciting features to the software.
What you get with flexiWare 7.5.2:
New! Multi-Subject Extension (MSX) Support
The SCIREQ team once again has enjoyed participating in the European Respiratoy Society's Annual Congress in Barcelona. Our partnership with our distributor EMKA Technologies was strengthened as we presented the flexiVent and inExpose systems in a joint booth.
It was a pleasure to see our international users come by the booth to discuss their research topics and experiences with our equipment. We always enjoy the opportunity to exchange ideas with our customers to learn about their applications while offering the best solutions for accurate respiratory mechanics measurements and inhalation exposure.
Our very own Senior Scientsist, Dr. Annette Robichaud will again be presenting at this years Jackson Lab workshop on Phenotyping Mouse Models of Human Lung Disease from September 15th to 20th. This workshop is an excellent opportunity to acquire hands-on training in respiratory mechanics measurements using the flexiVent as well as to learn from various experts in the field.
2013 Speakers include:Space still available, click here to register today!
At this year's ERS Annual Congress at the Fira Barcelona Convention Centre, we are looking forward to continuing to build our close relationship and exhibiting alongside our European distributor emka TECHNOLOGIES. We invite you to come by booth G11 and see the latest developments of our flexiVent FX as well as our inhalation exposure system the inExpose.
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We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated individual with an interdisciplinary background combining technical and engineering skills with life sciences to join our Sales and Technical Support team for our line of high-tech pulmonary research devices.
Our group is composed of multi-disciplinary individuals who work together collaboratively to be at the forefront of science and innovation in our field. We offer a wide variety of responsibilities and challenges, a friendly team environment, exciting growth opportunities and a pleasant, modern working environment.
If you are interested in joining us, please consult our current job posting: Product Specialist.
Reading through this note, you will gain a better understanding of how and where our system was used, including cigarette smoke, aerosol, air pollutant exposures, etc. Like the flexiVent, the inExpose is a sophisticated, precision scientific instrument that can bring additional standardization to critical intervention processes. As exemplified in this Application Note, both instruments can even be used in combination to address various research questions.
Click here to download the Application Note and learn how you could positively impact your research reproducibility and efficiency.
A recent book chapter by Dr. J.M. Hartney and SCIREQ's own Senior Scientist Dr. Annette Robichaud features airway hyperresponsiveness assessment in mice using detailed measurements respiratory mechanics.
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The chapter, published in Methods in Molecular Biology1, respects the 30 year tradition of the well-known book series of providing detailed step-by-step protocols supplemented by notes offering protocol related advice or tips.
While this article is primarily directed at researchers new to the field of respiratory mechanics, we invite anyone interested in airway hyperresponsiveness or detailed measurements of respiratory mechanics to read it. Click the book cover image for full details.1Edited by Irving C. Allen, Mouse Models of Allergic Disease, Methods and Protocols.
We are pleased to announce the publication of our first video article in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). "[...] JoVE is a peer reviewed, PubMed indexed journal devoted to the publication of biological, medical, chemical and physical research in a video format."1
The article, which was produced in collaboration with the Meakins-Christie Laboratories of McGill University, illustrates and describes the steps to perform forced oscillation measurements in mice using the flexiVent. It includes the procedure to adequately prepare the system, tracheotomize, cannulate and mechanically ventilate a mouse, as well as to record lung function measurements. In addition, typical results at baseline and following aerosolized methacholine challenges are presented and discussed.
We invite you to watch the video and to read the article for additional details.
1JoVE - Peer Reviewed Scientific Video Journal - Methods and Protocols MyJoVE Corp. 2006-2013. < http://www.jove.com/about >.
If you didn't get the chance to stop by our posters, please take a look by clicking on the title below to download each one.
Mechanical Test Load Comparative Study of Three FlexiVent System Configurations
A big thank you to the show organizers and everyone we met. We look forward to continuing the conversation!
This year, at ATS, we have a lot of news to share with attendees. At booth 524, we will be demonstration our flexiVent FX system with our multi-subject extension (MSX) alongside our inExpose inhalation exposure system. You can look forward to learning more about our new dose response capabilities and other key features from our latest flexiWare 7.5 software.
Attendees can also be the first to watch our new JoVE video called Evaluation of Respiratory System Mechanics in Mice using the Forced Oscillation Technique. You can view the video in full by clicking here.
We are presenting two posters at ATS 2013, both during the same session on Sunday May 19th.
A1952 - Mechanical Test Load Comparative Study of Three flexiVent System Configurations
Poster Board Number: B38
Viewing Time: 10:45-12:30
A1957 - Raised-Volume Low Frequency Forced Oscillation Measurements Of Respiratory Mechanics In Conscious And Anaesthetized Mice
Poster Board Number: B43
Viewing Time: 10:45-12:30
Our Senior Scientist Dr. Annette Robichaud and flexiVent Product Manager Liah Fereydoonzad will both be present to discuss these findings.
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Booth: 524
Exhibit hours:
Sunday, May 18 10am - 4pm
Monday, May 19 10:30am - 3pm
Tuesday, May 21 10:30am - 3pm
Don't miss our Breakfast Symposium on Tuesday May 21st at 7am. Complimentary continental breakfast will be served while our team presents the latest flexiVent developments. Click here to read more and register for this event.
Following our Software Release: flexiWare 7.5 blog posting, we received many requests for a software demo. In response, we held and recorded a webinar on May 7th, 2013. The webinar featured flexiWare 7.5's automated dose response functionality to show how this adds speed and efficiency to experimentation sessions. In addition, we also showcased the following features:
This video is now available for your viewing.
For any questions, you can contact our team toll free at 1.877.572.4737 or by emailing us at [email protected]
We would like to invite you to join us for a Breakfast Symposium during ATS at the convention center’s adjoining hotel. The agenda will include the three presentations listed below, followed by an opportunity for personal discussions with members of our team. Our program will be timed such that attendees can conveniently reach the convention center for scientific sessions starting at 8:15.
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 2013
TIME: 7 am – 8am (doors open at 6:45 am)
LOCATION: Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Hotel
Independance Room on the 3rd floor
1201 Market Street
Continental breakfast will be provided.
Please r.s.v.p. through the online registration form, by email at [email protected] or by calling us toll free at 1.877.572.4737.
Refining the Dose Response: What's on Your Axis?
by Thomas F. Schuessler, PhD
New tools and concepts introduced in flexiWare 7.5 dramatically accelerate dose response studies, enhance group separation and improve the comparability of results across studies.
Refining the Dose Response: MSX = flexiVent4
by Liah Fereydonzad, BEng
Dose response studies done with the new flexiVent Multi-Subject extension (MSX) exponentially improve study design while allowing incredibly fast and efficient experimentation.
Refining the Dose Response: Towards Improving AHR Assessment
by Annette Robichaud, PhD
Nebulization protocols defined through careful understanding of the parameters not only improve AHR outcomes, but ensure data quality and reproducible aerosol challenges.
We had over 15 flexiVent users join us on April 24th to discuss new flexiVent FX developments, new software features, frequently asked questions and even hear from select users on their current research. It was a great opportunity to meet new users and catch up with our flexiVent veterans.
Thank you to everyone who attended.
Keep an eye out for our next User Group Meeting in your area! We will be holding this event on a regular basis and would like your input if you are interest in having one in your area.
All of us at SCIREQ would like to express our shock and horror at the atrocious events that took place at the Boston Marathon last Monday. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and all those affected.
As per the information currently available to us, the exhibit at the Experimental Biology conference is set to proceed as scheduled. Further information can be found on the EB website.
The exhibit is located at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and is open April 21 to 23 from 9 am to 4 pm. Our SCIREQ team will be happy to welcome you at booth #446.
The flexiVent User Group Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, at the Westin Copley Plaza hotel. We have confirmed the continued availability and security of this venue with the hotel staff, therefore this meeting will also proceed as scheduled.
We understand that the proximity of our venue to the site of the attacks may cause discomfort to some of our attendees. However, after thorough consideration, we feel that the meeting should go ahead at this site as we refuse, whenever possible, to allow such events to change the way we live our lives. We hope that our attendees and clients agree with this choice, and that attendance at the User Group Meeting will be unattenuated.
For further information about the User Group Meeting, please refer to this earlier posting. To register, please fill in our online form.
We look forward to seeing you in Boston!
If you are going to attend the Canadian Respiratory Conference in Quebec City from April 11 to 13, we invite you to come by the exhibits to talk to us and learn more about the latest flexiVent FX and inExpose developments. We will be sharing booth T7 with our sister company, THORASYS Thoracic Medical Systems Inc., makers of the tremoFlo Airwave Oscillometry System (AOS) to measure lung function without patient effort.
Canadian Respiratory Conference 2013
Quebec City Convention Center
April 11 - 13, 2013
Booth T7
SCIREQ is proud to announce the release of flexiWare 7.5, the latest version of our Study Management and Experiment Control Software. flexiWare 7.5 is a major upgrade that adds several new and exciting features to the software.
Our latest software allows flexiVent users to rapidly generate dose response graphs as well as customizable pre/post graphs directly within the flexiWare software. This enables a visualization of differences between study groups virtually in real time as the study progresses, and it tremendously reduces the time required for post-processing and reporting.
Moreover, the new flexiWare 7.5 allows plotting responses to inhaled challenges against an estimate of the delivered (i.e. inhaled) drug dose rather than concentration of drug in the nebulizer. We will soon issue more details on this significant, important refinement for dose response studies involving aerosols .
flexiWare 7.5 now fully supports the new flexiVent multi-subject extension (MSX) that permits studying up to four subjects simultaneously with a single flexiVent FX system. The software now seamlessly adapts ventilation and perturbation scaling as subjects are added or removed from the system, and new calibration methods and analyzers have been added to support the assessment of lung mechanics using transfer impedance.
flexiWare 7.5 also introduces a number of enhancements to the control of mechanical ventilation for flexiVent users. We have added Pressure-Controlled Ventilation (PCV) as a new mode of ventilation that, when used with the MSX, allows standardization the inspiratory pressure across parallel subjects. For single-subject configurations, the software now offers a feature to control the delivered volume when using volume controlled ventilation patterns. This algorithm accounts for gas compression within the ventilator circuit to ensure that the subject is receiving the desired tidal volume with the best possible accuracy.
If your current flexiWare installation is covered under our Complete Care program, our Technical Support team will be happy to assist you in downloading and installing your free upgrade. Otherwise, please contact our sales team at [email protected] for further details and pricing information.
flexiVent FX with MSX extension
We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of flexiWare 7.5 which will greatly facilitate your dose response studies as well as supporting our new multi-subject extension (MSX). More details on the new features of flexiWare 7.5 to follow shortly on this blog.
SCIREQ is hosting a flexiVent User Group Meeting Wednesday, April 24, 2013 following the Experimental Biology conference in Boston. Join our team for a day of scientific presentations and discussions to learn more about the flexiVent’s capabilities and its applications and share your feedback with other users. We look forward to your participation at this event.
Discussion sessions during the meeting will include:
We will have the flexiVent FX and the MSX hardware extension all run on our latest flexiWare software (version 7.5) available for demonstration. If there are other topics you are interested in discussing, please let us know.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 2013
TIME: 9 am – 3 pm
LOCATION: Westin Copley Place Hotel, 10 Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02116
Please submit your registration by APRIL 8, 2013.
The easiest way to register is by filling out our online form. You can also contact us via email at [email protected].
SPACE IS LIMITED | REGISTER TODAY!
Our team just returned from the Society of Toxicology's 52nd Annual Meeting in San Antonio and it was a great success! We would like to thank everyone who visited the SCIREQ booth to discuss current and potential applications for our inExpose and flexiVent FX systems.
We look forward to a further discussion at Experimental Biology in Boston. Join us at booth #446 from April 21-23.
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