The centrifuge can house animals for a prolonged period of time up to several life cycles. This large diameter centrifuge is powered by a 3.5kW DC motor that drives two arms on which the swing-out gondolas are attached. Maximum acceleration of the nominal system ranges from 1 to ~ 8xg or higher for reduced experiment masses.

At present the centrifuge is being used for a long duration rat experiment. The animals are housed for periods up to 10-18 month at 2.5 times Earth gravity. The main topic of research of the AMC Amsterdam is to investigate various properties of the vestibular system. The animals are also used by other scientists fo studies of the immune system, bone, muscle, brain, intestines, cartilage, or extra cellular tissue matrix components.

We are looking into various possibilities to increase the research potential for this centrifuge. This includes both the research capacity as well as the scientific possibilities. Some of the improvements are the introduction of telemetry to monitor animal behaviour (on-line monitoring of body temperature, heart beat, arterial pressure, mobility or other body sensors), facilitate metabolic studies, exercise studies. The centrifuge gondolas are such that for example small experiments that need large microscopes of other hardware setups for on-line monitoring of cell behavior may be accommodated.