A small, silent, low friction, linear actuator for mechanical nociceptive testing in veterinary research.

Air pressure is commonly used to drive a mechanical stimulus for nociceptive threshold testing. This may be bulky, noisy, non-linear and suffer from friction, hence development of a better system is described. A novel, light (14 g) rolling diaphragm actuator was constructed, which supplied 20 N force via a constant actuation area irrespective of the pressure and position in the stroke. Three round-ended pins, 2.5 mm diameter, mounted in a triangle on the piston, provided the stimulus. Pressure was increased manually using a syringe with the rate of rise of force controlled at 0.8 N/s by warning lights. The pressure/force relationship was calibrated using a static force transducer and mercury column. Data were collected with the actuator attached to the antero-medial radius of 12 cats and four dogs. Mechanical threshold was recorded when the animal withdrew the limb and/or turned towards the actuator. Safety cut-off was 20 N. The pressure/force relationship was linear and independent of the start point in the actuator stroke. Baseline feline thresholds were 10.0 +/- 2.5 N (mean +/- SD), which increased significantly 30 min after butorphanol administration. Baseline canine thresholds were 5.5 +/- 1.4 N and increased significantly between 15 and 45 min after administration of fentanyl or butorphanol. The system overcame the problems of earlier devices and detected an opioid-induced increase in threshold. It has considerable advantages over previous systems for research in analgesia.