The New CHCT Equipment

Natalia Kraeva, PhD, MH investigation unit, Toronto, Canada

The MHIU in Toronto, Canada has got a replacement for the CHCT apparatus, which had been used for the MH diagnosis for more than 35 years. The new MH measuring system, custom built for us by Biegler Medizinelektronik, Austria, fully complies with the guidelines for the in-vitro contracture test set up by MHAUS as well as the European MH Group. Compared with the old MH apparatus, the MH system has several advanced features.

1. Built-in safety precautions such as automatic stimulation-current shut-down whenever the electrodes are manipulated, overload protection of the load cells as well as scavenging of the excess halothane-carbogen mixture during the test.
2. Eight temperature-controlled double-walled cuvettes with integrated temperature measurement, instead of one large bath.
3. A linear actuator enables precise stretching of the muscle strips before the test.
4. The bathing solutions can be exchanged instantly by vacuum suction.
5. Muscle contracture is recorded together with the bath temperature in a data acquisition system and can be analyzed by specialized software.