The Jackson Laboratory and Allentown unveil a revolutionary AI driven home cage monitoring solution set to transform preclinical research

The AI-powered home-cage monitoring solution is poised to enhance preclinical research efficiency and improve the translation of findings to clinical settings

(Bar Harbor, Maine, and Allentown, N.J. - Nov. 3, 2024) - The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), a nonprofit biomedical research institution and a global leader in mouse models of human disease, has joined forces with Allentown, a premier provider of animal housing solutions, to launch a revolutionary machine learning (ML)-powered home-cage mouse monitoring solution designed to accelerate preclinical research and improve the translatability of preclinical readouts to clinical applications.

At the heart of this home-cage monitoring system is Envision, JAX's innovative cloud-based AI software that captures and displays digital measures of mouse behavior and physiology within the home-cage environment offered exclusively with Allentown's state-of-the art Discovery ™ IVC , a housing solution designed to continue setting the standard for safe and efficient micro and macro environmental conditions within the vivarium. Together, JAX's Envision platform and Allentown's Discovery ™ IVC are delivering a comprehensive solution for continuous in vivo monitoring, empowering scientific discovery, and enabling enhanced husbandry operations, facility management and animal care.

The digitization of behavioral assays and non-invasive monitoring is revolutionizing the use of animals in preclinical studies, enabling richer and more translatable data sets while also promoting the 3Rs principles for animal research: replacement, reduction, and refinement. This cutting-edge approach enhances the precision and depth of preclinical studies, yielding more relevant and reproducible findings. Offering a more operationally efficient, more naturalistic, and less biased data set compared to traditional manual and episodic observation, Envision also minimizes animal disturbance, promotes animal welfare, and ensures continuous, comprehensive monitoring for superior data quality.

"We are excited to partner with Allentown to produce this system which ultimately will change how research with animal models is conducted," said Mitchell Kennedy, executive vice president of JAX and president of JAX Mice, Clinical & Research Services. He continued, "Envision is a cornerstone in JAX's larger mission of bridging the gap between preclinical research and real-world clinical settings."

"This partnership with The Jackson Laboratory underscores our commitment to supporting cutting-edge research," said Patrick Connahan, chief commercial officer at Allentown. "By integrating our Discovery system with JAX's Envision platform, we provide a comprehensive solution that advances research capabilities, promotes animal welfare, and operational efficiency. Together, we are pioneering a new era in preclinical research."

The groundbreaking Discovery and Envision solution will debut at American Association for Laboratory Animal Conference 2024 in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 3-7, marking a significant milestone in home-cage monitoring technology.

About The Jackson Laboratory:The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States, Japan, and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.

About Allentown: Allentown is a global leader in Life Science solutions, with over 55 years of dedicated service to the biomedical research industry. They have supported groundbreaking research that saves lives worldwide. Known for their integrity, care, and unwavering commitment, Allentown has earned the trust of the biomedical research community by consistently delivering essential, high-quality research solutions aimed at improving lives.

Allentown media contact: Joe Romano, [email protected], 609-259-7951 ext. 1208

JAX media contact: Cara McDonough, [email protected], 919-696-3854