System for Real Time Optical Tracking and Analysis of Rattus Paws

An existing gait analysis system designed to quantify the locomotion characteristics of rats and calculate the extent to which the gait of the rat is affected by neuromuscular disease or injury is significantly improved through the correlation of automatic paw tracking via live video analysis and the synchronization of load cell signals representing ground reaction forces in all three Cartesian directions. A time consuming data conversion and synchronization procedure for clinical trials with a sample size greater than 10 is replaced with software capable of automatic processing of both video footage and load cell signal voltage. Video analysis is performed in real time that consists of calculating timing information which allows load cell information to be isolated for each paw leading to individual limb ground reaction force curves. A new paw illumination system consisting of illumination LEDs installed on the side of clear acrylic floor panels helped to contrast paws with the background during periods of paw contact with the floor which reflects light to the video camera positioned directly beneath the clear platform. The increased paw to background contrast allows for more effective separation and tracking of individual paws. To increase the data collection process efficiency a new gait measurement platform was designed to measure the gait of the rat as it traverses a platform in both directions. Programmable food access and lights are used to control rat movement while minimal manual labor is required to operate the system. Rat handling, measurement duration, and operating difficulty are reduced to a level where more than a dozen rats are can be accommodated during a trial. This new bi-directional design coupled with streamlined data processing leads to a more efficient gait analysis system capable of measuring more rat runs per trial and therefore potentially increasing the amount of knowledge gained that relates to alleviating symptoms of human neuromuscular diseases as modeled in rats