Cage Card Identification Standards
Cage card identification is regulated by both the NIH Guide and AAALAC accreditation standards. The required minimum varies by institution but always includes:
NIH Guide minimum (Section IV.A.5)
- Source or strain
- IACUC protocol number
- Principal investigator
- Date of arrival or date of birth
Common institutional additions
- Unique cage ID (mandatory at AAALAC-accredited facilities)
- Dam ID and sire ID (for breeding cages)
- Genotype or transgene status
- Sex and number of animals
- Protocol expiration date
- Special handling notes (immunocompromised, hazardous agent, etc.)
Why QR codes help
Printed cards become stale the moment animals are transferred, weaned, or culled. A QR code that links to a live colony management system means the card never needs to be reprinted — the source of truth is digital, and the card is just a stable address.
QR Payload Design Choices
The QR code on each card encodes a JSON payload with these design decisions:
Versioned schema
Every payload starts with `"v": "1"` so future readers can evolve the schema without breaking older cards. When the field set changes, increment the version and have the reader fall back to v1 parsing.
Compact field names
Field names are abbreviated (`id`, `dam`, `sire`, `pcl`, `pi`) to keep the QR density low. A standard 3.5 × 5 in cage card has limited real estate, and lower density QRs scan more reliably under poor lighting in a vivarium.
Strip undefined fields
Optional fields are removed from the JSON when empty rather than set to null. This further reduces QR density and means a card with only the required fields produces a much simpler QR.
Optional ConductColony URL
When the optional `url` field is included, scanning the QR opens a ConductColony page with the live cage state. The card itself stays printed, but the data on it is always current.
