The NORINA database of alternatives
Karina
Smith, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo
NORINA (A Norwegian Inventory of Alternatives)
is an English-language database with information on approximately 3700 audiovisual
aids and other alternatives that can be used in teaching and training from
Junior School to University level.
The database is available free of charge on the Internet:
http://oslovet.veths.no/NORINA
The database is compiled by consultant Karina Smith
(karina.smith@veths.no) at the
Centre for Laboratory Animal Science and Alternatives, Norwegian School of
Veterinary Science in Oslo. NORINA
has been continually updated since 1991, and a new version of the database is
available on the Internet every month.
To facilitate searching, the products cited in NORINA have been
organised into different Types and Categories. There are more than 30 different types of alternatives
in the database, including three-dimensional models, video films, interactive
CD-ROMs, computer simulations and slide series. Each product has, in addition, been assigned to one or
more of over 30 categories, such as Anatomy, Pharmacology, Physiology and
Surgery. In this way it is
possible for users to conduct more specific searches in the database, to narrow
the results to the field in which they are interested.
NORINA makes extensive use of the Internet’s ability to cross-link
information. Records include
hot links to the suppliers’ own websites of products in the database, and
in many cases to email addresses of the product authors. Many of the products in NORINA may be
borrowed from international loan schemes such as that run by InterNICHE (http://www.interniche.org) and HSUS (http://www.hsus.org). Each of the records in NORINA describing these products
contains a hot link to these loan schemes. Likewise, there are links from NORINA to the EURCA
database (http://www.eurca.org), which is a
smaller database providing peer-reviewed information on computer simulations
suitable for use in higher education.
The
development of the NORINA database reflects the enormous increase in the number
of potential alternatives or supplements to the use of animals that has
occurred over the last ten years.
By 1990 veterinarian Richard Fosse, then working at the Haukeland
Hospital in Bergen, had collected information on approximately 40 programs.
Pharmatutor, a computer simulation of the effects of drugs on blood pressure in
the rat, was one of the very first alternatives in this collection (see Figure
1). This information was handed
over to the Veterinary School in 1991, and became the start of the NORINA
project. The database was
initially sold on floppy discs.
By 1996, NORINA was so large, and in demand worldwide, that a decision
was taken to place the entire database on the Internet, free of charge. The U.K. organisation
Laboratory Animals Ltd. kindly donated the NORINA server
at the Veterinary School, along with several of the computers used for the
development and compilation of the database.
NORINA has benefited since 1996 from close collaboration with Rees
Griffiths at the Computer Department, Macquarie University in Sydney,
Australia. A mirror site
(identical copy) of the database is available on the server at this university,
making it easier for users on the Pacific coast to access NORINA. Rees Griffiths was also
instrumental in designing NORINA’s search engine.
Since NORINA is available free of charge, the project
is entirely dependent upon external funding. Since 1996 this funding has come from a wide range of
sponsors, including animal welfare organisations, trusts, legacies and
pharmaceutical industry.
The scope of the products cited in NORINA has
increased dramatically over the years, as new technologies have been adopted
for teaching purposes. Some examples
are:
·
The dissection
programme ”Investigation of a Mammal (Rat)” produced by Dr. Wendy
van Dok, Melbourne, Australia (Figure 2).
This programme consists of pictures, slides and a video film based on a
real dissection. This product won
the multimedia festival award at the 2nd World Congress on Animal Use in the
Life Sciences and Alternatives in Utrecht in 1996.
· The interactive computer simulation SimMuscle (Figure 3) replicates the nerve-muscle preparation commonly used in pharmacology and physiology classes. The student using this virtual programme has to connect correctly all the equipment shown on the screen before the simulation will function. SimMuscle is one of a series of programs developed by Professor Hans Braun and co-workers in Marburg, Germany.
· The Microsurgical Developments PVC Rat (Figure 4) is a three-dimensional model which has been successfully used on courses in microsurgery to reduce the number of rats needed to train surgeons. The model comes with an explanatory videofilm. A separate interactive computer program (on CD) called REMOTE simulates the procedures necessary for anaesthesia of a rat. This product was developed by Professor René Remie and co-workers in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Large numbers of animals
are still used in teaching and training, both in schools and in the biomedical
sciences. It has been
estimated that in the USA alone, 6 million animals are used in schools for
dissection purposes (Balcombe, 2000).
Many teachers and pupils are now looking for alternatives to traditional
dissection classes. The
products in NORINA may also be useful in reducing animal use in situations
where total replacement is impossible.
The training of researchers and technicians in pharmaceutical companies,
and of veterinary students, can often be improved by the introduction of
audiovisual aids and models, so that the trainee learns the basic elements
(and, not least, how to avoid animal suffering) before starting to use live
animals.
By providing information on alternatives and
supplements to this use of animals, the NORINA database contributes to the
implementation of the three R’s of Russell & Burch (1959):
Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.
Karina and
Adrian Smith would like to extend their deepest thanks to the three
organizations behind the Nordic Prize for Alternatives to Animal Experiments:
· Alternativfondet (from Denmark)
· Juliana von Wendts Stiftelse (from Finland)
· Stiftelsen Forskning utan djurförsök (from Sweden).
The award is a great encouragement for continuing the
work with the NORINA database.
Balcombe J. (2000): The Use of Animals in Higher
Education: Problems, Alternatives and Recommendations. http://www.hsus.org/ace/13059
Russell W. & Burch R. (1959): The Principles of
Humane Experimental Technique. http://altweb.jhsph.edu/publications/humane_exp/het-toc.htm
Karina Smith,
Norwegian Reference Centre for Laboratory Animal
Science and Alternatives
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science
P.O. Box 8146 Dep.
N-0033 Oslo
Norway
