The current mouse husbandry standard is to change a rack or room of cages on a set schedule, primarily to track the day the service was performed and to plan resources required for the cage change-out process.  This often results in premature changing of cages which can be very wasteful in terms of labor, materials and energy.  To address this problem, we created a new method to assign and then track cage changes based on the state of the cage instead of a preset schedule.  An algorithm was developed and integrated with an existing database which utilizes input from portable interfaces.  Cage environment studies were performed to validate the algorithm.  In our case, implementation of this novel method decreased assigned cages from 16,500 to 8,500 per week resulting in a projected material savings of over $160,000 and a labor savings of over 8,000 hours annually.  Reduction of electrical usage, waste disposal, water consumption and sewer discharge is also significant. 

Bio:  Rhonda Wilder, DVM, DACLAM directs the Genentech Research Support Facility, overseeing research operations providing complex murine genetics models for drug discovery efforts.  Dr. Wiler's current management focus is to make high-density and high-throughput research operations functional yet cost-effective by utilizing technological solutions such as automated data management and robotic systems.