Rodent Tail Vine Code for Flexible Animal Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current animal identification systems in vivariums face challenges such as limited code space, high costs, reliance on specialized equipment, and inaccuracies in marking and reading animal IDs, particularly on rodent tails, which are flexible and difficult to mark reliably.
Innovation Solution
A dual-code system is implemented, comprising a human-readable and machine-readable portion, where the machine-readable portion uses a vine code with a spine to account for tail curvature and rotation, and the human-readable portion uses a reduced alphanumeric set for easy tattooing and reading, with error detection mechanisms to ensure accurate identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If machine-readable markings (barcodes, RFID) are used for animal identification, then reading speed and accuracy improve, but equipment cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines machine-readable barcode markings with human-readable alphanumeric tattoos on animal tails. This merging allows the system to benefit from both approaches: barcodes provide fast, accurate machine reading while alphanumeric characters enable simple visual verification and manual data entry without requiring complex specialized equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates redundant representations of the same identification data in two different formats (barcode and alphanumeric) on the same animal tail. This copying ensures that the identification information can be read accurately by both machines and humans, providing backup reading capabilities and eliminating single-point failures
2Ease of operation
If human-readable markings are used for animal identification, then ease of manual reading improves, but reading speed and machine-readability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines machine-readable barcode markings with human-readable alphanumeric tattoos on animal tails. This merging allows the system to benefit from both approaches: barcodes provide fast, accurate machine reading while alphanumeric characters enable simple visual verification and manual data entry without requiring complex specialized equipment
3Reliability
If large code space is used for globally unique animal IDs, then identification uniqueness improves, but marking complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification system into two parts: a study-specific alphanumeric code that is simple to mark and read, and a corresponding barcode that encodes the same information. This segmentation allows the use of relatively simple markings within each study while maintaining the ability to uniquely identify animals across multiple studies through the study-specific codes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of study-specific coding to the identification system. By making codes unique within each study rather than requiring globally unique codes from the start, the system expands its capacity to handle large numbers of animals across multiple studies without increasing the complexity of individual markings
4Productivity
If tail tattooing is performed on living rodents, then marking throughput improves, but marking accuracy and reliability deteriorate due to tail flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary restraint measures by placing the rodent in a restraint device before tattooing. This preliminary action stabilizes the tail in a fixed position, allowing the tattooing machine to accurately deposit ink characters without the tail moving or flexing during the marking process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a restraint device as an intermediary between the animal and the tattooing process. This intermediary device holds the animal's tail steady during marking, enabling both high throughput and high accuracy by eliminating the problem of tail flexibility without requiring anesthesia or other complex measures
Data Source
AI summary
Symbologies suitable for use marking codes on rodent tails are disclosed, for both machine-readable and human-readable codes, and those codes combined. Codes comprising both a human-readable and a machine-readable portion may associate with an animal ID within one study, and a study ID within a vivarium, respectively. A human-readable code uses a subset of an alphanumeric symbol set. A machine-readable code uses a vine-code with a visible spine aligned with the rodent's tail. Both symbologies support a system for deleting symbols and correcting codes marked in error. Both symbologies use symbol sets comprising only horizontal and vertical line segments. Both symbologies include a sparse mapping table for mapping marking codes to animal and study ID, and for error detection and for code re-use.