Benefits

All the Zantiks units are built along the same principles, enabling high throughput and easy-to-run experiments. The benefits of choosing Zantiks include:

• An isolated and stable testing environment
• Networked and controlled via a web browser
• Live video view and real-time video recording
• Includes software, uses the Zanscript language for experiment specification
• Real-time results processing and output in .csv format
• Integrated camera, computer, experimental chamber and built-in stimuli
• Takes up little bench space
• Only requires 12V power and a network connection
• Free software upgrades for all Zantiks users
• Free online/remote support for all Zantiks users

Target Studies

The MWP Z3 systems can perform a range of studies, including but not exclusive to:

• Locomotion
• Light/dark transitions
• Toxicity
• Startle response
• Habituation
• Prepulse inhibition
• Circadian rhythm
• Optogenetics

NOTE: this is not a complete list of all the studies that the systems are capable of. Please contact us if you have any specific studies in mind.

Zantiks MWP Z3 system

The MWP Z3 system has an overall unit size of 270mm width (with heater attached) x 260mm length x 620mm height and is fully integrated with:

• Zanscript scripting language, enabling the design and execution of complex and precise experiments
• Zantiks proprietary software
• Computer
• Camera (global shutter)
• Interchangeable lenses: A standard 4mm lens and a varifocal "zoom" lens for a close up view
• Integrated controllable Infra Red backlighting
• Stimulus lighting from above and below (Red, Green, Blue, White)
• Audio/sound output
• 2 types of vibration stimuli
• Temperature control system (0-10°C above ambient room temperature)

All Zantiks systems are fully networked. The MWP Z3 is supplied with a router and controlled via a web browser, allowing users to operate them from a phone, tablet, laptop, PC, Mac or Chromebook.

From the web browser on your device you can access the Zantiks Control Console towrite & edit scripts, start & stop services (i.e., experiments), view the live video feed, and download results (.csv files) or media files.

For details on how to use the Zantiks Control Console, see the Zantiks Control Console manual.

Built-in stimuli

Overhead and underneath illumination 

Colour, brightness and duration can be specified with millisecond accuracy.

• Can be used for ambient lighting, circadian rhythm entrainment and light flashes.
• RGB and White LEDs bright enough for optogenetics
• 12 bit brightness control (~4,000 levels),

Vibratory stimuli 

2 types of vibrations produced by either a stepper motor or an eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors.

• Duration, intensity and frequency can be precisely controlled with millisecond accuracy.
• Suitable for generating startle responses, PPI and wakefulness.

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Audio stimuli 

Allows playback of *.wav files through a range of speaker options.

• Suitable for startles, predator cues, vocal calls of conspecifics, etc.

Included equipment

Temperature control unit 🡕

• Allows raising the temperature above that of ambient room temperature. Suitable for maintaining favourable temperatures, or for heat shock. 
• Small footprint (total bench area required, 300mm x 300mm); connects directly to the side of the MWP Z3 unit.
• Powered entirely from the MWP Z3 unit itself and controlled from the Zantiks scripting language.
• Operates via moving air through the testing chamber.
• Control of the temperature up to 10°C above ambient.
  • Drosophila experiments, in a room at 20°C, you can achieve the standard 22°C or 25°C
  • Zebrafish embryos and larvae experiments, in a room at 25°C, you could achieve the standard 28°C.

NOTE: As it operates via moving air, it may be beneficial for some experiments (such as long-term or animals that require humidity) to use lids or covers on the multi-well plates / petri dishes to reduce evaporation from the chambers containing animals.

Add-on equipment

There are many different bioassay plates and equipment available for the MWP Z3 units. Please see the Zantiks Optional Add-Ons page for additional equipment offered.

Camera, tracking and video recording

Camera

The Zantiks MWP system uses a near InfraRed (IR) global shutter camera. The camera can be set to different resolutions (px):

• Standard resolution - 720 x 540
• High resolution - 1440 x 1080
• Region of interest (ROI) - 640 x 480

The camera comes with two camera lens options:

• 4mm lens for “standard full” well plate view (~ 144mm x 108mm field of view)
• 10-50mm varifocal lens for “zoomed in” view (~ 62 x 46 mm field of view at 10mm focal length and ~ 17x13mm field of view at 50mm focal length)

At the standard and high resolution, the frame rate can be set between 1 - 120 (1,5,15,30,60,120) frames per second. Our suggested settings are: 

• Standard resolution = 30fps
• High resolution = 15fps

However, higher frame rates are possible. 

For the ROI, frame rate can be set 1,5,15,30,60,120,240,480,600 frames per second. 

Exposure time is under user control.

Tracking

Tracking is generally carried out live (or slightly delayed if using burst capture mode), therefore results are available immediately at the end of an experiment. However, tracking can also be carried from video recordings. The system can track singly-housed animals in up to 96 arenas. The varifocal "zoom" lens reduces the arena that can be observed at one time to allow for more close-up, higher detailed imaging to be captured. There are options for live 3D tracking.

Video recording

• Up to four separate video recordings may be made simultaneously. 
• Video recordings can be made either with or without annotations: 
  • Text overlay (user controllable allowing feedback on the video of the currently active stimuli).
  • Target markers of the current tracked position.
  • Track traces of the animal. 
• Recordings can be made at the full frame rate, or as time lapse recordings.
• Compression is under user control.

Storage

The system has 495Gb available for storing scripts, data and video files. The size of data files will be determined by the data exported and the length of the experiment. The size of video files will be determined by the length of the video, frame rate, resolution and compression. For long term experiments, options are available for saving time lapse video or snapshots of real time video in order to make video files smaller and more manageable. In burst mode, videos are stored directly to temporary memory (RAM) and subsequently processed for tracking and video recording. Bursts of over a minute of continuous 600 fps (ROI mode) can be captured.

Software features

All Zantiks data output is exported live and in realtime to a *.csv file. The system can export up to four separate data files and four separate video files simultaneously. Output options include:

• Distance travelled (mm)
• Mean pixel change
• Zone use
  • Time spent in zone (sec)
  • Distance travelled in zone (mm)
  • Number of entries into zone
• XY coordinate data
• XYZ coordinate data
• Heatmaps
• Track trace drawing
• Realtime & timelapse video
• Image capture
• Video labelling

All Zantiks systems are operated via Zanscript proprietary scripting language which allows for:

• Open loop scripting
• Closed loop scripting
• Operant training/learning
• Control of all stimuli with millisecond accuracy