Please note: A PDF version of this guide is available for download at the bottom of the article.

The information in this manual pertains to the functionality available under the Animal Management tab of a study.

Enabling Animal Management for a Study

Animal Management is accessible within an IACUC study record that has been flagged as using Animal Management. When a study record is first created in iRIS, the user filling out the Study Application will first be asked if the study is using Animal Research. If this is answered yes, then a question will populate asking whether the study uses Animal Facility Management.

Answering yes to this question will create the Animal Management tab within the study.

Animal Summary

At the top of the Animal Management tab are two items, a list of approved animals and an order tally graph.

Approved Animals

This provides a listing of the species, strain, stock #/order code, sex, age, and breeding status of animals approved for use in the study.

Order Tally

This graph indicates the following information:

Total Approved: The total number of approved animals for the study. (If you are using ARC in conjunction with the IACUC module, see the IACUC Assistant – Submission Processing manual for more information on approving animals).

Total Pending: The totals for all submitted order/transfer requests and ordered animals that have not been received. Click the plus icon to view the order numbers contributing to the pending total.

Total on Study: The total number of animals received by ARC and placed in quarantine or on the study.

Total Available:  Total Pending and Total on Study subtracted from Total Approved, i.e., the total number of animals that can still be added to the study.

If multiple species have been approved for use on a study, a graph and corresponding totals will display for each species.

Animal Orders

Animal Ordering

When you first open the Animal Management tab, you are automatically placed on the Animal Ordering portion of the screen.

The Animal Ordering table lists different order statuses, including:

Draft: The order form has been filled out, but not yet submitted to ARC

New Request: The order form has been filled out and submitted to ARC

Ordered – Pending Receipt: The order has been submitted to the vendor

Completed: The order has been received

Order statuses can be configured under ARC Assistant > Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Order Status.

To view the details of an order, click the icon in the Edit/View column.  

The Order Number column lists order numbers, which are generated when a new order is saved. For more information about configuring order numbers, consult the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

The Requested Item, Requested Quantity, and Received Amount columns detail the species and strain requested, the number of animals requested, and the number that have been marked as received.

Clicking the icon in the Track Location column opens the Submission Tracking screen.

This allows you to ensure that the form is going through the workflow properly and that ARC has received the submission.

The icon in the Retract Order column is available for orders that have been submitted to ARC but not yet ordered from the vendor. Retracting the order returns it to Draft status and will allow you to edit the order and resubmit it. It also subtracts the number of animals from the Pending total and adds them back to the Approved total.

The icon in the Delete Order column is available for Draft orders that have not yet been submitted to ARC.

Clicking the icon in the Copy Order column creates a new Draft version of an order that you wish to duplicate.

Add a New Order

Clicking the Add a New Order button brings you to the animal order form.

The order form contains the following data values:

Order Number: This is automatically generated when the form is saved. Order numbering is configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Order Numbering. For more information about configuring order numbers, please consult the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

Order Status: This is automatically generated by the system. Orders are first created in Draft status.

Order Date: This field is automatically populated with today’s date, but can be edited.

Preferred Delivery Date: This is an editable date field.

Preferred Vendor: This field contains a dropdown list of vendors. Vendors are configured under System Administration > List Configuration and Maintenance > Business Associate List. More information about this configuration is available in the System Administration - List Config - System Setup manual.  

Requested Animals

Requested Species: This dropdown list contains the approved species on the study.

Requested Strain: Once the Requested Species has been selected, this field will populate with the available strains.

Total Approved Animals: Indicates the total number of animals approved for the study.

Total Available Animals: Indicates the number of animals still available to order.

Stock #/Order Code:  This is a text field where you can enter the stock number/order code.

Age/Size: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Health Status: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Unique Anatomical Features/Phenotype: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited. You can turn on and off this field using the system.use_arc_unique_anatomical_features system property, available under Animal Resource Center properties.

Special Care: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Special Conditions: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Breeding: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Number of Requested Males/Females: In these fields, you can enter the total number of male and female animals you wish to order.

Number of Animals per Approved Pain Category: In this table, you can enter the number of animals in each pain category. The total number of animals listed in this table must equal the total number of animals requested in the above fields.

Proposed Location

Number of Cages: In this field, you can enter the number of cages needed to house the new animals. When you enter a number in this field, the system generates the Cage Location(s) table.

Cage Location(s): This table is where you can enter the proposed cage types and locations for the new animals. To fill in a whole column with the same information, click the All button under the column name. The lists for Cage Type, Facility, Floor, and Room are configured under Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Cage Types and Setup Facilities/Floors/Rooms. The number of animals entered in the Cage Location(s) table must equal the total number of animals requested or the form will not validate.

Funding

In this part of the form, you first either need to upload a Federal Document, enter a Foundation PO #, or enter a Requisition #. You can turn on and off the Foundation Number and Requisition Number fields using the system.use_arc_foundation and system.use_arc_requisition system properties, available under Animal Resource Center properties.

In addition, there are two fields to enter charge account numbers.

Order Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal order. If system.use_arc_study_accounts is set to “Yes,” this field will be a dropdown menu that pulls account numbers from the cost centers set up under Study Management.

Housing Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal housing order.

Saving/Signing Off on the Order

Clicking Save Form validates the form to ensure that all required fields are filled out and that the total number of animals requested doesn’t exceed the total number of animals available for the study. The pain category and cage fields will also validate against the number of animals requested, as described above.

The following screen will open, giving you the options to Exit Form, which will return you to the main Animal Management screen, Signoff and Submit, and Return to Form, which will allow you to return to the form for further editing.

Click Signoff and Submit to open the Submission Routing Signoff screen. Here, the Principal Investigator can Approve or Deny the submission and enter his or her UIN and Password to sign off on it.

Click Save Signoff to continue. If the PI approved the submission, the order will be sent to ARC for further processing.

Animal Transfer

To initiate an animal transfer, select Animal Transfer from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

Click the Add a New Transfer button to open the Transfer Type Selection window. In this window, you can select whether you would like to initiate an Internal Transfer or an External Transfer. Internal transfers refer to transfers from other studies at the same institution, while external transfers come from a different institution.

Make a selection, and click Continue to proceed to the Transfer Form.

Internal Transfer

To add an internal transfer, you first need to ensure that there are study(s) in the system that both have the same species and strain of animals available and are set as Available for Internal Animal Transfers. To make a study eligible for internal transfers, navigate to the Study Management tab of the study > Study Summary/Profile. Ensure that Yes is selected next to “Available for Internal Animal Transfers.”

The Internal Transfer Form contains the following data values:

Transfer Number: This is automatically generated when the form is saved. Transfer numbering is configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Transfer Numbering. For more information about configuring transfer numbers, please consult the ARC - Review Board Administration manual.

Order Status: This is automatically generated by the system. Orders are first created in Draft status.

Request Date: This field is automatically populated with today’s date, but can be edited.

Date of Proposed Transfer: This is an editable date field.

Source: This read-only data value indicates that this is an Internal transfer.

Requested Animals

Requested Species: This dropdown list contains the approved species on the study.

Requested Strain: Once the Requested Species has been selected, this field will populate with the available strains.

Total Approved Animals: Indicates the total number of animals approved for the study.

Total Available Animals: Indicates the number of animals still available to order.

Stock #/Order Code:  This is a text field where you can enter the stock number/order code.

Age/Size: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Health Status: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Unique Anatomical Features/Phenotype: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Special Care: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Special Conditions: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Breeding: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Number of Requested Males/Females: In these fields, you can enter the total number of male and female animals you wish to transfer. Please note that transfers are done on a cage by cage basis, so if the number you request does not equal the specific number in a cage on the study you are requesting the transfer from, you will not receive the exact number of requested animals.

Number of Animals per Approved Pain Category: In this table, you can enter the number of animals in each IACUC-approved pain category. The total number of animals listed in this table must equal the total number of animals requested in the above fields.

Originating Study

If, as described above, there are studies with transferable animals available in the system, you will see the Search Studies button at the top of this section.

Click this button to open the Find a Study: Search Options window.

At the top of this window, there are fields that you can use to narrow down your search:

IACUC Number: In this field, enter all or part of the study’s IACUC number.

Principal Investigator: When you begin typing in this field, a list will populate of the users in the system with the corresponding letter(s) in their names.

Additional Investigators: When you begin typing in this field, a list will populate of the users in the system with the corresponding letter(s) in their names.

Species: The species is read-only.

Protocol nickname: In this field, enter all or part of the protocol nickname.

Department: When you begin typing in this field, a list will populate of the departments in the system with the corresponding letter(s) in their names.

Sponsor: When you begin typing in this field, a list will populate of the sponsors in the system with the corresponding letter(s) in their names.

Strain: The strain is read-only.

Enter information in some or all of the above fields to narrow down your search and click Find Studies to obtain your search results. Alternatively, you can click Find Studies with no information entered in the search filters to return all available studies in the system.

Click the icon in the Select Study column to select a study and return to the main internal transfer form. The IACUC Number and Principal Investigator fields will be populated with the information from the study you selected.

Original Animal Order Number: In this field, enter the original animal order number.

Lab Contact Person: In this field, enter the name of the lab contact person.

Phone Number: In this field, enter the phone number of the lab contact person.

Email: In this field, enter the email address of the lab contact person.

Number of Cages: In this field, enter the number of cages you wish to transfer from the originating study.

Cage(s) to be Transferred: This field is not editable. The cages to be transferred will be determined by the PI of the originating study when they sign off on the transfer.

Veterinarian Information

Name: This dropdown list is populated with the names of iRIS users configured as veterinarians under Review Board Administration > Setup Veterinarian Profile. The Name field defaults to the user designated as the default veterinarian in the system. For more information about configuring veterinarians, consult the ARC - Review Board Administration manual.

Phone Number: If a phone number is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Fax Number: If a fax number is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Email: If an email address is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Transfer Coordinator

Name: This dropdown list is populated with the names of iRIS users configured as transfer coordinators under Review Board Administration > Setup Transfer Coordinator Profile. The Name field defaults to the user designated as the default transfer coordinator in the system. For more information about configuring transfer coordinators, consult the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

Phone Number: If a phone number is listed under the transfer coordinator’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Fax Number: If a fax number is listed under the transfer coordinator’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Funding

In this part of the form, you first either need to upload a Federal Document, enter a Foundation PO #, or enter a Requisition #.

In addition, there are two fields to enter charge account numbers.

Order Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal order. Depending on your system configuration, you may see a dropdown list of account numbers here, pulled from the cost centers added to the study.

Housing Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal housing order.

Saving/Signing Off on the Transfer

Clicking Save Form validates the form to ensure that all required fields are filled out and that the total number of animals requested doesn’t exceed the total number of animals available for the study. The pain category field will also validate against the number of animals requested, as described above.

On the following screen, you will have the options to Exit Form to return to the main Animal Management screen, Signoff and Submit, or Return to Form for further editing.

Click Signoff and Submit to open the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet. The first signoff for this form is for the PI of the originating study. On the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet, the Principal Investigator can Approve or Deny the submission and enter his or her UIN and Password to sign off on it.

Select Approve or Deny, enter your UIN and Password, and click Save Signoff to process the submission. If you deny the submission, an option will appear to add comments pertaining to the denial. The transfer will be given a status of “Denied” and will no longer be active.

 If the original internal transfer request is approved, the internal transfer form will next be routed to the PI for the study that will be supplying the animals (the “Originating PI”). The routing of the transfer form is configured in its workflow under System Administration > Workflow Designer.

The Originating PI will receive a home screen task for the signoff, as well as system email notifications, if they are configured. Routing notifications for transfers are configured under Review Board Administration > Internal Transfer Originating PI Signoff Notification Setup, Internal & External Transfer Coordinator Signoff Notification Setup, and Internal & External Transfer Veterinarian Signoff Notification Setup. For more information about configuring notifications, please see the ARC - Review Board Administration manual.

Opening the Originating PI Signoff task will bring the originating PI to the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet. At the top of the screen, you can click the icon next to Request Information to expand and view information regarding the original transfer request. Click to minimize this information again.

A unique feature of this particular signoff sheet is the Cage(s) to be Transferred section, which allows you, as the Originating PI, to designate the specific cages that will be transferred to the receiving study.

 Click the Select the Cage(s) to be Transferred button to open the list of cages.

Check the boxes next to the cages to transfer, and click Save. The cages will then appear in the Cage(s) to be Transferred table, but are still editable until you complete the signoff. Select whether you Approve or Deny the submission, and enter your UIN and Password. If you deny the submission, an option will appear to add comments pertaining to the denial. The transfer will be given a status of “Denied” and will no longer be active.

 Click Save Signoff to complete the process.

If the transfer is approved by the Originating PI, it is next routed to the Transfer Coordinator.

As the Transfer Coordinator, click the icon to open the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet. As described for the previous signoff sheet, you can expand the details of the request at the top of the screen.

This signoff sheet contains a series of questions that can be answered to more fully specify terms for approval of the transfer and describe the use of the animals.

The questions on the page are as follows:

Special Conditions for Approval: For this question, you can select one or more conditions from “None, OK to Vivarium,” “Quarantine,” “Use only No Breeding,” “Additional health test on arrival,” “Containment,” “Reservation,” and “Other,” which allows you to enter a description.

Will Use of Animals be Experimental: Select Yes or No.

If Yes, How long will they be Housed?: In this field, you can enter a time period for housing the animals.

If Terminal, Will Use be Terminal?: Select Yes or No.

If Terminal, Have Personnel been Trained?: Select Yes or No.

Health Information: Here, you can upload documents pertaining to the health of the animals.

Is an MTA Required: Select Yes or No.

Next, Approve or Deny the submission and sign off using your UIN and Password. If you deny the submission, an option will appear to add comments pertaining to the denial. The transfer will be given a status of “Denied” and will no longer be active. Click Save Signoff to process the submission.

If the transfer is approved by the Transfer Coordinator, it is routed to the Veterinarian.

As the Veterinarian, click the icon to open the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet. As described for the previous signoff sheet, you can expand the details of the request at the top of the screen. The signoff sheet for the Veterinarian also has the same questions as described above for the Transfer Coordinator’s signoff.

Approve or Deny the submission and sign off using your UIN and Password. If you deny the submission, an option will appear to add comments pertaining to the denial. The transfer will be given a status of “Denied” and will no longer be active.

Click Save Signoff to process the submission.

After the transfer has gone through the entire approval process, it will be available for processing by ARC. For more information about transfer processing, please see the ARC – Order Processing manual.

External Transfer

When you initiate an external transfer, you are brought to the Animal Resource Center External Transfer Form.

The External Transfer Form contains the following data values:

Transfer Number: This is automatically generated when the form is saved. Transfer numbering is configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Transfer Numbering. For more information about configuring transfer numbers, please consult the ARC - Review Board Administration manual.

Order Status: This is automatically generated by the system. Orders are first created in Draft status.

Request Date: This field is automatically populated with today’s date, but can be edited.

Date of Proposed Transfer: This is an editable date field.

Requested Animals

Requested Species: This dropdown list contains the approved species on the study.

Requested Strain: Once the Requested Species has been selected, this field will populate with the available strains.

Total Approved Animals: Indicates the total number of animals approved for the study.

Total Available Animals: Indicates the number of animals still available to order.

Stock #/Order Code:  This is a text field where you can enter the stock number/order code.

Age/Size: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Health Status: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Unique Anatomical Features/Phenotype: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Special Care: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Special Conditions: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Breeding: This field is auto-populated from the study application, but can be edited.

Number of Requested Males/Females: In these fields, you can enter the total number of male and female animals you wish to transfer.

Number of Animals per Approved Pain Category: In this table, you can enter the number of animals in each approved pain category. The total number of animals listed in this table must equal the total number of animals requested in the above fields.

Originating Facility

Institution or Company Name: In this field, you can enter the name of the institution or company to supply the animals.

PHS Assurance Number (if applicable): In this field, you can enter the institution’s PHS Assurance Number, if available.

Animal Transfer Coordinator

In this section, enter the Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, and Email address of the Transfer Coordinator from the originating facility.

Investigator Information

At the beginning of this section, enter the Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, and Email address of the PI of the originating study.

Protocol Number/Title: In this field, enter the number/title of the originating study.

Approval Date: In this date field, enter the study’s approval date.

Expiration Date: In this date field, enter the study’s expiration date.

Contact (Lab/Project/Vivarium/Co-PI, etc.): In this field, you can enter the name of an additional contact on the originating study.

Veterinarian Information

In this section, enter the Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, and Email address of the veterinarian for the originating study. In addition, there is a field to enter the Originating Facility Mailing Address.

Destination Facility

Veterinarian Information

Name: This dropdown list is populated with the names of iRIS users configured as veterinarians under Review Board Administration > Setup Veterinarian Profile. The Name field defaults to the user designated as the default veterinarian in the system. For more information about configuring veterinarians, consult the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

Phone Number: If a phone number is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Fax Number: If a fax number is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Email: If an email address is listed under the veterinarian’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Animal Transfer Coordinator

Name: This dropdown list is populated with the names of iRIS users configured as transfer coordinators under Review Board Administration > Setup Transfer Coordinator Profile. The Name field defaults to the user designated as the default transfer coordinator in the system. For more information about configuring transfer coordinators, consult the ARC - Review Board Administration manual.

Phone Number: If a phone number is listed under the transfer coordinator’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Fax Number: If a fax number is listed under the transfer coordinator’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Email: If an email address is listed under the transfer coordinator’s iRIS user account, it will populate here. The field is also editable.

Destination Facility Mailing Address: In this field, enter the mailing address of the destination facility.

Number of Cages: In this field, enter the number of cages you will need to house the new animals. When you enter a number in this field, the system generates the Cage Location(s) table.

Proposed Location: This table is where you can enter the proposed cage types and locations for the new animals. To fill in a whole column with the same information, click the All button under the column name. The lists for Cage Type, Facility, Floor, and Room are configured under Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Cage Types and Setup Facilities/Floors/Rooms. The number of animals entered in the Proposed Location table must equal the total number of animals requested or the form will not validate.

Funding

In this part of the form, you first either need to upload a Federal Document, enter a Foundation PO #, or enter a Requisition #.

In addition, there are two fields to enter charge account numbers.

Order Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal order. Depending on your system configuration, you may see a dropdown menu that pulls account numbers from the cost centers set up for the study.

Housing Charge Account: In this field, you can enter the account number for the animal housing order.

Saving/Signing Off on the Transfer

Clicking Save Form validates the form to ensure that all required fields are filled out and that the total number of animals requested doesn’t exceed the total number of animals available for the study.

On the following screen, you can click Exit Form to return to the main Animal Management screen, Signoff and Submit, or Return to Form to return to the form for further editing.

Click Signoff and Submit to open the Submission Routing Signoff Sheet. Here, the Principal Investigator can Approve or Deny the submission and enter his or her UIN and Password to sign off on it.

Click Save Signoff to continue. If the PI approved the submission, the transfer request will be sent to ARC for further processing.

Cage Management

Per Diem

The Per Diem tab allows you to view the Per Diem collection dates associated with the study.  

At the top of the screen, you can filter the results by entering dates in the from and to boxes. Click the icon to open the calendar and pick a date. After entering dates in both fields, click Find to obtain your results.

To view the details of a Per Diem Date, click the icon in the View column. This will open a listing of the details of per diem collected on a given date.

You can filter your results using the Facility and Room dropdowns at the top of the screen. To use these filters, first select a Facility from the dropdown menu. The Room menu will then populate with rooms from the selected facility. Select a Room, and then click Find to narrow down your results.

The table of results contains the following fields:

Facility: Lists the facility where the cage is located.

Room: Lists the room where the cage is located.

Cage ID: Lists the unique ID for each cage.

Cage Type: Lists the cage type.

Cage Details: Click the icon in this column to view a pop-up with details regarding the individual animals in a cage.

# of Days: Indicates the number of days included in this particular per diem collection. The number of days represents the days since the last per diem collection.

Rate: The per diem rate charged for each cage.

Cost: The total amount collected per cage. This is equivalent to the number of days multiplied by the rate multiplied by the number of animals in the cage.

Order Number: The order number associated with the procurement of the animals in the cages.

Vendor: The vendor from which the animals were received.

Click Cancel – Return to List to return to the main Per Diem screen.

Cage Records

The Cage Records portion of the screen lists the cages associated with the study. At the top of the screen, you can filter your results. Select a Cage Status, Cage Type, Facility, or Room using the dropdown menus, or enter all or part of the Animal ID, Animal Tag Number, or Bar Code. Enter information in one or all of the filters and click Find to obtain your results.

In the table of Cage Records, you can view the Cage Status, Cage ID, Cage Type, Facility, Room, Number of Males, Number of Females, Number of Unknown, and Bar Code for each cage.

You can also print cage cards from this screen. To print cage cards for every cage on the study, click Print All in the Print Card column. First, you will need to select a template from the dropdown list. Then, click Generate Cards to create your cage cards.

All of the cage cards for the study will generate and you will be able to print them. You can also generate cage cards for individual cages by clicking on the icons in the Print Card column.

Click the icon in the Delete column to delete a cage. New cages can be deleted when they do not have any animals added yet.

Click the icon in the Edit column to view and/or edit the details for a cage.

The Cage Management screen contains the following information:

Cage ID: The unique identifier for the cage.

Cage Status: Select between Active, Quarantine, and Retired. If you would like to set the status to all of the animals in the cage as “Euthanized,” click the Animals have been euthanized button.

Cage Type: Select from a dropdown menu of Cage Types, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Cage Types.

Facility:  Select from a dropdown menu of Facilities, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Facilities/Floors/Rooms.

Floor: Select from a dropdown menu of Floors, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Facilities/Floors/Rooms.

Room:  Select from a dropdown menu of Rooms, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Facilities/Floors Rooms.

Activation Date: This is an editable date field.

Hold: Click the Add Hold button to place a hold on the cage. Having a hold on the cage will prevent per diem from being collected on those dates. In the Add Cage Hold window, select a Start Hold Date and an End Hold Date and click Save to proceed. Click Cancel to return without saving.

Retired Date: This is an editable date field that will become required if you set the Cage Status to “Retired.”

Last Date Per Diem Collected: This read-only field indicates the last time the per diem was collected for this cage.

Comments: This is a text field where you can add comments about the cage.

At the bottom of the screen are the Animal Records associated with the cage, which consist of an individual record for each animal currently associated with the cage. In the table of animal records, you can see the Life Status, Species, Strain, Animal ID, Tag Number, Sex, DOB, Facility, Room, Cage ID, the means through which the animal was received, and the Order Number. For more information about editing animal records, please see the Animal Details section of this manual.

Click Cancel – Return to List to return to the main Cage Records screen.

Click Add a New Cage to open the Cage Management screen and add a new cage to the study.

Adding a new cage requires filling in the same data values described above. The Cage ID will be generated when the cage details have been entered, and the form is saved by clicking Save.

At this point, there will be no records listed in the Animal Records at the bottom of the screen, because no animals have been added to the cage yet. Click Cancel – Return to List to return to the main Cage Records screen.

Animal Details

Animal Records

This screen displays individual records for all of the animals that have been added to the study.

 At the top of the screen are a series of filters that allow you to narrow down the list of animal records.  You can select a Species, Strain, Sex, Life Status, Generation, Facility, Room, Origin, or Cage ID from the dropdown menus, or enter all or part of the Animal ID or Animal Tag Number. You can also add two dates in the Date of Birth Range fields to search for animals born within a given date range. Enter information in one or all of the filters and click Find to narrow down your results.

For example, selecting “Male” from the Sex menu and clicking Find will display only the male animals in the list at the bottom of the screen.

Each animal is listed with their Life Status, Species, Strain, Animal ID (an automatically generated number – ANI-16-483_M_0026 – that contains the study number [ANI-16-483_M_00026], the sex of the animal [ANI-16-483_M_0026], and the animal’s unique ID on the study [ANI-16-483_M_0026]), Tag Number, Sex, DOB, Facility/Room, Cage ID, and Animal received by (Order, Transfer, Breeding).

Clicking the icon next to an animal’s record brings you to the Animal Management screen.  On the left-hand side of the screen are four links, Animal Profile, Genotype, Scheduling, and Observations.

Animal Profile

The Animal Profile tab allows you to see and edit information regarding a specific animal. Depending on the animal’s Life Status, this page may be read-only.

The tab contains the following data values:

Species: A predefined field listing the animal’s species.

Strain: This pull-down menu contains all of the strains approved for the study.

Tag Number: This is an editable text field.

Animal Alias: This is an editable text field.

Breeding #: If the animal was bred on the study, a value may already appear here associating the animal to a breeding record. You can also use the Select a Breeding Record button to associate the animal to a breeding record on the study. Select a record from the dropdown list, and click Apply Selection to save or Cancel to return without saving.

Generation: This pull-down menu contains a list of generations, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Generation.

Date of Birth: This is an editable date field.

Sex: In this field, you can select between Male, Female, and Unknown.

Life Status: This pull-down menu contains a list of life statuses, configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Life Status.

Deactivation Date: This is an editable date field where you can indicate when the animal is no longer active and will no longer be counted in per diem calculations, if per diem is being calculated per animal.

Breeding Status: In this field, you can select between Breeding, Retired Breeder, Unknown, and Virgin.

Cage ID: Lists the cage where the animal is currently being housed. Click Select a Cage to choose a new cage from among the current cages on the study. Select a cage from the dropdown list, and click Apply Selection to proceed.

Click Create a New Cage to configure a new cage for the study.

Enter the details for the cage, and click Apply Selection to add the cage to the study and add the mouse to the cage.

Coat Color: This pull-down menu contains a list of coat colors, configurable under Review Board Administration > Setup Coat Color.

Diet: This pull-down menu contains a list of diets, configurable under Review Board Administration > Setup Diet.

Animal received by: This read-only field tells you the way the animal was added to the study (Order, Transfer, or Breeding).

Order Number: This read-only field gives the order number associated with the animal.

Click Save to save the information you have entered, or click Cancel – Return to List to return to the main Animal Records screen.

Genotype

The Genotype tab allows you to enter information regarding the animal’s genotype. Click Add a New Genotype to open the Animal Genotyping screen. On this screen, there are fields to enter a Gene, First Allele, First Confidence, Second Allele, Second Confidence, Genotype Date, and Comments. The Gene, First Allele, and Second Allele pull-down menus are configured under Review Board Administration > Setup Gene and Setup Allele.

Click Save Genotyping to save the record and Cancel – Return to List to return to the Genotype tab, or just hit Cancel – Return to List to return without saving.

To delete a genotype that you have added, click the icon in the Delete column.

Scheduling

On the Scheduling tab, you can add treatment plans and schedule tasks for the animal.

Configuring Treatment Plans

Treatment plans are configured on the Study Management tab > Finance Setup > Construct Animal Treatment Plan. Clicking this link opens the Study Animal Treatment Plan List screen.

To add a new treatment plan, click the Add a New Animal Treatment Plan button. The Add a New Animal Plan window will allow you to add the Template (plan) name and any Comments. The Species Name will appear as read-only if there is only one approved species on your study, or as a dropdown menu if there are multiple species available.

Enter the information about the new plan and click Save Template to proceed. On the Study Animal Treatment Plan screen, you can configure the treatment plan by adding tasks. If you wish, you can add Comments about the plan in the text box near the top of the screen. You can also click Cancel – Return to List to stop creating the plan and return to the main list of treatment plans.

Click Add Tasks to continue. This will open a window where you can select a task type. You can choose between Animal Procedure, Animal Services, Animal Data Collection Forms, and an Animal Event (Collection of Tasks).

Animal Procedure

In order for Animal Procedures to appear for selection, they must have been submitted to the board via the study application and approved. Animal Procedures are configured under ARC Assistant > Review Board Administration > List Maintenance Setup > Animal Procedure Configuration List. For more information about configuring procedures, please see the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

Click the icon next to a procedure to select it to add to the treatment plan and return to the main treatment plan screen. Click Back to Task Selection to return to the previous menu, or Cancel to return to the main screen without selecting a procedure.

Animal Services

Animal Services are configured under ARC Assistant > Review Board Administration > List Maintenance Setup > Animal Service Configuration List. For more information about configuring animal services, please see the ARC – Review Board Administration manual.

The services that appear in the Add Animal Plan Task Type window are all of the services associated with the species that you have assigned to your treatment plan.

Click the icon next to a service to select it to add to the treatment plan and return to the main treatment plan screen. Click Back to Task Selection to return to the previous menu, or Cancel to return to the main screen without selecting a service.

Animal Data Collection Forms

Here, you can add forms for data collection to the treatment plan. The forms that appear here are those designated as “All Subject on all Study CRF/Data Capture Form” in System Form Designer.

Click the icon next to a form to select it to add to the treatment plan and return to the main treatment plan screen. Click Back to Task Selection to return to the previous menu, or Cancel to return to the main screen without selecting a form.

Animal Event (Collection of Tasks)

An Animal Event is a means to group a selection of tasks together from the Animal Procedure, Animal Services, and Animal Data Collection Forms categories.

First, enter a Task Name and a Description, if desired. Next, you can check boxes next to the procedures, services, and forms you wish to include in your Animal Event. Click Create Event Task to Click Back to Task Selection to return to the previous menu, or Cancel to return to the main screen without creating the event.

On the main Study Animal Treatment Plan screen, you will see a list of the tasks you have selected to include in the treatment plan.

The table of tasks contains the following fields:

Delete: Click the icon in this column to delete a task.

Add Sub Task: This column is applicable to Animal Events. You can click the icon to add more tasks to an Animal Event.

View Details:  This column is also applicable to Animal Events. You can click the icon to expand the list of tasks associated with an event.

Task Name: This field contains the name of the task. The names of Animal Events are editable in this field.

Offset: Enter a value here to offset tasks from the start of the treatment plan. For example, an offset of two days means that the task will be scheduled to take plan two days after the treatment plan begins. Enter a numeric value in the first box, and then select a time frame (Days, Weeks, Months) from the dropdown menu.

Account Number: Select the account number to which you would like to bill a task. Account Numbers are configured under Study Management > Finance Setup > Study Accounts.

When you are finished adding tasks, click Save Animal Treatment Plan. The treatment plan will now be available to add to an animal’s schedule.

Adding Treatment Plans/Tasks to the Schedule

On the Scheduling tab, you can add Treatment Plans and Schedule tasks to an animals’ schedule.

Click Add Treatment Plan to add a treatment plan to the animal’s schedule. In the Add Treatment Plan window, type in a date in the Treatment Plan Start Date field in the DD/MM/YYYY format, or click the icon to pick a date from the calendar. To select a plan and add it to the schedule, click the icon next to a plan in the Apply Plan column.

Click Cancel if you wish to return to the main Scheduling screen without adding a treatment plan.

When a treatment plan has been added, its component tasks will appear under the Incomplete tab as individual tasks. You can click the icon in the Delete column to delete the individual tasks associated with the treatment plan, if needed.

Click Add a New Schedule Task to add tasks individually. In the Select an Animal Schedule Task Type window, you can choose between an Animal Procedure, Animal Services, Animal Data Collection Forms, or Animal Event (Collection of Tasks). For more information about these types of tasks, please see the previous section of this manual on configuring treatment plans.

After you select the type of task, you will be brought to a window where you can enter the Target Date, select an Account Number, and select the task from the list of available tasks.

Click the icon to select a task, Back to Task Selection to return to the list of task types, or Cancel to return to the main Scheduling screen. The tasks you add initially appear under the Incomplete tab, which contains the following fields:

Delete: Click the icon in this column to delete a scheduled task.

Open: Click the icon in this column to open and edit a task.

Task Name: This field contains the name of the task.

Task Description: This field contains the description of the task as specified when the task is configured under Review Board Administration.

Target Date: This is the target date for the task to be completed.

To view and process a task, click the icon in the Open column to open the Animal Scheduling Task screen. On this screen, you can edit the target date, mark a task completed, enter the assessment date, select an account number, and enter comments and observations.

The following fields are editable on the Animal Scheduling Task screen:

Target Date: In this field, you can enter the target date for the task. Type in a date in a DD/MM/YYYY format, or select a date from the calendar.

Completed: This field allows you to change the status of the task. Select from Canceled, Complete, Incomplete, and Not Done. Changing the status of the task to Canceled, Complete, or Not Done moves the task from the Incomplete tab to the Complete tab.

Assessment Date: This field is required when you change the status of the task to Canceled, Complete, or Not Done. Type in a date in a DD/MM/YYYY format, or select a date from the calendar. This field cannot be used if the status of the task is Incomplete.

Account Number: Here, you can select the billing account number for the task from a dropdown list. Account Numbers are configured under Study Management > Finance Setup > Study Accounts.

Comments: In this text editor, enter comments about the task.

At the bottom of the screen, you can enter observations. Click Add an Observation to open the Add Observation window. The Observed By field is a read-only field that populates with the name of the user who is entering the observation. The Observation Date field auto-populates with the current date, but is editable. The Problem/Diagnosis, Treatment, and Outcome fields contain dropdown lists that are configured under Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Observation Diagnosis/Setup Observation Outcome/Setup Observation Treatment.

You can enter an observation in the text editor and click Save to save the observation and return to the previous screen, or click Cancel to return to the previous screen without adding an observation.

Once an observation has been added, you can use the icon in the Delete column to delete it, or the icon in the Edit column to open it for editing.

Click Back to return to the Scheduling tab.

If you are working with a Data Collection Form task, you will be able to view and complete the form from within the Animal Scheduling Task screen. Click the icon in the Open column for the task.

 Between the Target Date and Completed fields, you will see a link to the Data Capture Form. Click the icon to open the form and complete it, if desired.

You can click Cancel – Return to List at any time to return to the main Scheduling screen without saving, or click Save Task Details to save your edits. Tasks with the status Cancelled, Complete, or Not Done become read-only after saving.

After saving, click Back to return to the main Scheduling screen. You can click over to the Complete tab to view all of the Canceled, Complete, and Not Done tasks.

Click the icon in the Open column to view the details of a task. The task will be read-only.

Click Cancel – Return to List to return to the main Scheduling screen.

Observations

This tab allows you to add observations about the animal. Click Add a New Observation to open the Add Observation window.

The Observation Date field is auto-populated with the current date but can be edited. If necessary, enter the Problem/Diagnosis, Treatment, and Outcome as described earlier. Enter your data in the Observation field and click Save to close the window and return to the Observations tab. The observation will be added to the main screen.

Click the icon in the Delete column if you wish to delete an observation. Clicking Cancel – Return to List will return you to the main Animal Records screen.

Animal Breeding

From this tab, you can manage animal mating and breeding records

Mating Records

To search for an existing mating record, there are several filters you can use at the top of this tab.

You can enter the Dam Animal ID, Dam Animal Tag Number, Sire Animal ID, Sire Animal Tag Number, Litter Species, Litter Strain, Facility, Room, Cage ID, Mating Date range, Generation, and Needs Genotyping.  After entering information, click Find to return the corresponding results.

Click Add a New Mating Record to open the Animal Mating screen.

The Animal Mating screen contains the following fields:

Species Name: If there is more than one species approved for the study, this will be a dropdown list. If only one species is approved, the name of the species will be read only.

Mating ID: This will be a unique number that will be generated when the form is saved.

Sire ID: Click Select Sire to bring up a list of all the male animals on the study. If you would like to filter the search results to locate a specific animal, you can use the Strain, Life Status, Date of Birth range, Generation, Animal ID, Animal Tag Number, Animal Alias, and Cage ID filters. After entering in your filter information, click Find.

To select an animal, click the radio button associated with the record in the Select column. Click Apply Selection to add the animal to the mating record, or Cancel to exit without selecting an animal.

Dam 1 ID: Click Select Dam to bring up a list of all the female animals on the study. The process for selecting a dam is the same as described above for selecting a sire.

New Mating Diet: Select a diet from the dropdown list.

Breeding Strain: The available strains on the study will populate in this dropdown list.

Litter Generation: Select a generation from the dropdown list.

Mating Date: This is a selectable date field.

Standard Wean Time: Select from between Standard and Extended.

Needs Genotyping?: Select this checkbox if the mating record needs genotyping.

Cage ID: You can either select an existing cage from the study or create a new cage. Click Select a Cage to choose an existing cage.

Select a cage from the dropdown menu, and click Apply Selection. To return without selecting a cage, click Cancel.

To create a new cage, click the Create a New Cage button. In the pop-up window, you will be prompted to select a Cage Type, Facility, Floor, Room, Activation Date, and enter any comments if necessary. Click Apply Selection to create the cage, or Cancel to return.

Wean Notes: Add any notes in this text field.

Comments: Add any comments in this text field.

Click Save to save the mating record, or Cancel – Return to List to return to the main screen without saving. After saving, click Back to return to the Mating Records tab. The new record you created will appear in the list of results.

Breeding Records

Once you have created mating records for the study, you can generate breeding records to manage the new animals that have been born. To locate existing breeding records, you can use the filters at the top of this tab. Select a Mating ID, Breeding Type, or Date Born, Wean Date, or Tag Date date range. Click Find to narrow down your results.

To add a new breeding record, click the Add a New Breeding Record button.

The fields on the Animal Breeding screen are as follows:

Breeding Number: This will be generated when the breeding record is saved.

Mating ID: In this dropdown menu, you can select from the mating records that have been created for the study. Once a mating ID has been selected, details about the mating record will populate on the right side of the screen.

Total Born #: Enter the total number of animals born in this field.

# Males/# Females: Enter the number of males and females born in the corresponding fields.

Breeding Type: Select a value from the dropdown list. The values in this list are configured under Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Breeding Type.

Date Born: Select a date in this field.

Wean Date: Select a date in this field.

Tag Date: Select a date in this field.

Breeding Status: Select a value from the dropdown menu. The values in this list are configured under Review Board Administration > System Setup > Setup Breeding Status.

Comments: Enter any necessary comments in this text field.

Add Offspring into Database

This section of the Animal Breeding screen allows you to determine whether to generate records for the new animals and where the new animals should be housed.

Auto Generate Animal Records: Select this checkbox if you wish to automatically create animal records for the new animals. If you deselect this box, the remainder of the screen will not populate and you will not be able to place the animals in cages.

Leave in Mating Cage: If you select this option, the new animals will be added to the mating cage and you will not be able to select new cages.

Number of Cages: If you wish to place the animals in new cage(s), enter the number of cages here. The Approved Location table will populate with the number of records selected.

Approved Location: In this table, enter the Cage Type, Facility, Floor, Room, and Number of Males and Number of Females in each new cage. Click the All button at the top of a column to enter the same information for all the records. The number of males and number of females must equal the number of males and females added at the top of the screen or the page will not save.

Click Back to return to the main Breeding Records screen. The new breeding record you just added will appear in the Study Breeding List, and the new animals will be added to the total on the study.

Forms

From this tab, you can fill out forms for submission to the ARC review board. The forms listed on this screen are those categorized in System Form Designer as Animal Resource Center Submission Forms that have the correct access granted.

To start a form, click on the form name in the list under ARC Submission Forms. This will bring you to a screen where you can view a list of records associated with that particular form.

Click Add a New Form to begin the process of filling out the form and submitting it to the ARC board. For more information about this screen, please reference the Study Assistant – Study Submissions manual.

Click Back to return to the Forms tab. Forms that have yet to be processed by the review board appear under Outstanding Submission(s).