JP2017121211A - Animal behavior analysis device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems with a conventional animal behavior analysis device that it is difficult to measure a plurality of small animals simultaneously since the resolution of measurement and calculation is determined by the number of light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements, and that an installation place is limited since the size of the device is large.SOLUTION: An animal behavior analysis device is mounted on an animal, which is integrally equipped with behavior data calculation means for outputting behavior data from acceleration data by an acceleration sensor and temperature data by a temperature sensor, and communication means. The behavior data calculation means includes vibration analysis means for outputting vibration frequency data and vibration amount data of the animal from the acceleration data, motion amount data output means for calculating motion amount data on the animal from the vibration frequency data and the vibration amount data, and activity amount data output means for calculating activity amount data of the animal from the temperature data and the motion amount data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an animal behavior analysis apparatus used for analysis of animal movement.

  In the field of medical research, animal experiments using animals are often performed. For example, in the development of new drugs, it is extremely important to analyze behavior patterns and measure momentum of small animals after medication. Moreover, when evaluating the effects of pharmaceuticals and gene therapy, the effectiveness is confirmed by animal experiments prior to clinical evaluation. In animal experiments, for example, a technique performed by observing behavior and physiological changes of a small animal for a predetermined period after administering a drug to a small animal such as a mouse bred in a breeding cage or performing genetic manipulation, for example, It is disclosed in the following Patent Document 1.

  In the behavior analysis technology for specimens such as animals disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of sets of skinner boxes having a size that allows specimens such as animals to behave, and light emitting elements and light receiving elements are attached to opposing wall surfaces around the skinner box. A sensor, a position detection device for determining the position of the animal specimen in the skinner box from the detection signal of the sensor, and an arithmetic processing based on the time-series output data of the position detection apparatus to obtain an action position of the specimen such as an animal Computer system that calculates and records the speed, direction of action, automatic environment setting device that can set the environment such as brightness and temperature in the skinner box, and supplies water, food, etc. And a facility control device for measuring the amount of food and drink.

Japanese Patent No. 2519893

  The behavior analysis technique for specimens such as animals disclosed in Patent Document 1 measures a plurality of small animals at the same time because the resolution of measurement is determined by the number of light emitting elements and light receiving elements arranged in the skinner box. There is a problem that it is difficult. In addition, there is a problem that the entire apparatus is large and the measurement location is limited.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an animal behavior analysis apparatus that can measure a plurality of small animals at the same time and is small in size and does not select any measurement location.

  The structure of the animal behavior analysis apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems will be described in detail. From an acceleration sensor, a temperature sensor, acceleration data acquired by the acceleration sensor, and temperature data acquired by the temperature sensor. An animal behavior analysis apparatus that is attached to an animal that is integrally provided with behavior data calculation means for outputting behavior data and communication means for transmitting the behavior data to an external information device, wherein the behavior data calculation means includes: Vibration analysis means for outputting the animal frequency data and vibration amount data from the acceleration data, momentum data output means for calculating the animal momentum data from the vibration data and vibration amount data, and the temperature data And an activity amount data output means for calculating activity amount data of the animal from the amount of exercise data. .

  According to the animal behavior analysis apparatus according to the present invention, since a sensor in which a plurality of conventional sets of light emitting elements and light receiving elements are attached to opposing wall surfaces around a skinner box is not used, a plurality of target animals can be identified as the same. It is possible to act in the cage and simultaneously perform measurement, thereby reducing the analysis cost. Furthermore, the apparatus itself is small and has the convenience of not selecting a measurement location.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the animal action analysis apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the animal action analysis apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the animal action analysis apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the usage method of the animal behavior analysis apparatus of this invention.

  The animal behavior analysis apparatus according to the present invention is attached to the body of the target animal by an appropriate fixing means such as a fixing band, and vibrates the body movement of the target animal with an acceleration sensor built in the main body of the analysis apparatus. The frequency and amount of vibration are output to an external information terminal as momentum, and the body temperature of the animal is measured by a built-in temperature sensor, and the body temperature and the amount of exercise described above are output as an activity amount to an external information terminal. By doing so, it is possible to analyze the behavioral form of animals.

The following embodiment shows an example of an animal behavior analysis apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following configuration.
In particular, the sizes, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the embodiments are merely illustrative examples and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified. There is nothing. In addition, the size, positional relationship, and the like of the members shown in each drawing may be exaggerated for clarity of explanation. In the following description, the same parts and the same components are denoted by the same names and reference numerals, and detailed description may be omitted as appropriate.

[Description of Configuration of Animal Behavior Analysis Device 1]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 of the present invention.

The configuration of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, the function of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 includes an acceleration sensor 10 including a three-dimensional acceleration sensor, a temperature sensor 20, behavior data calculation means 30, communication means 40, timing means 50, and storage means 8. Consists of
The behavior data calculation unit 30 includes a vibration analysis unit 31, an exercise amount data output unit 32, and an activity amount data output unit 33. In FIG. 1, for explanation, the communication magnetic field W for data communication between the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 and the external information device 100 is indicated by a broken line.

  The three-dimensional acceleration sensor 10 is integrally housed in a case constituting the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1, detects the movement of the animal on which the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 is mounted, and outputs it as acceleration data Sa in the xyz direction. Similarly, the temperature sensor 20 is integrally housed in a case constituting the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1, detects the temperature of the animal body on which the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 is mounted, and outputs it as temperature data St.

  The behavior data calculation means 30 outputs behavior data Ss including exercise amount data Sd and activity amount data Sk from the acceleration data Sa and temperature data St related to the body temperature of the target animal. The time measuring means 50 outputs a time measuring signal Sc for controlling the operation of the animal action analyzing apparatus 1 and inputs it to the action data calculating means 30 and the communication means 40. The storage unit 8 is a nonvolatile memory that stores various data calculated or output by the behavior data calculation unit 30, calendar information, use conditions of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1, and the like.

Next, the configuration of the behavior data calculation unit 30 will be described.
The behavior data calculation unit 30 includes a vibration analysis unit 31, an exercise amount data output unit 32, and an activity amount data output unit 33.

The vibration analysis means 31 receives acceleration data Sa output from the three-dimensional acceleration sensor 10 and outputs vibration frequency data Sn and vibration amount data Sv.
First, the frequency data Sn output from the vibration analysis means 31 will be described.
The vibration analysis means 31 has two threshold values for evaluating the signal change of the acceleration data Sa. They are a low threshold th1 and a high threshold th2. When the acceleration data Sa changes to a state where the acceleration data Sa exceeds the high threshold th2, the vibration analysis means 31 counts the change as 1 count and counts a change number memory (not shown) built in the vibration analysis means 31 by +1. When the acceleration data Sa falls below the low threshold th1, it is recognized that the change of the acceleration data Sa has ended. The vibration analysis means 31 evaluates the number of changes of the acceleration data Sa over a predetermined time within a range of 10 seconds to several minutes, and when the predetermined time has elapsed, the value of the change number memory at that time is changed to the frequency data Sn. Is output as The acceleration data Sa is an absolute value thereof, and so on.

  Next, the vibration amount data Sv output from the vibration analysis means 31 will be described. When the acceleration data Sa changes from a state below the low threshold th1 to a state exceeding the high threshold th2, the amount of change is cumulatively added to a change amount memory (not shown) built in the vibration analysis means 31. To do. The change amount of the acceleration data Sa is added by the vibration analysis means 31 over a predetermined time within a range of 10 seconds to several minutes, and when the predetermined time elapses, the value of the change amount memory up to that point is changed to the vibration amount data Sv. Is output as

Next, the momentum data output means 32 will be described.
The momentum data output means 32 sequentially inputs the frequency data Sn and the vibration amount data Sv from the vibration analysis means 31, and further the time signal Sc from the time measuring means 50, and a data group in which these three types of data are combined into one set. Is output as “momentum data Sd”. When the form of the momentum data Sd is expressed by an equation, Sd1⊆ (Sn1, Sv1, Sc1) is obtained. Here, Sd1 is the momentum data Sn after elapse of a predetermined time, “⊆” is a symbol representing the set, Sn1 is frequency data Sn after elapse of the predetermined time, and Sv1 and Sc1 are after the elapse of the predetermined time. The vibration amount data Sv and the time signal Sc. Note that the clock signal Sc1 includes calendar information.

Next, the activity amount data output means 33 will be described.
The amount-of-activity data output means 33 inputs the amount-of-moment data Sd from the amount-of-moment data output means 32 and the temperature data St from the temperature sensor 20, respectively. Output as “Sk”. When the form of the activity amount data Sk is expressed by an equation, Sk1⊆ (St1, Sd1) is obtained. Here, Sk1 is the activity amount data Sk after a predetermined time has elapsed, St1 is the temperature data St after the predetermined time has elapsed, and Sd1 is the exercise amount data Sd after the predetermined time has elapsed. As described above, since the timing signal Sc1 of the exercise amount data Sd1 includes calendar information, the activity amount data Sk1 also includes calendar information.

Next, the communication means 40 will be described.
The communication means 40 receives action data Ss composed of the exercise amount data Sd and the activity amount data Sk from the action data calculation means 30 according to a method known as an NFC (Near Field Communication) communication method, and modulates it into a magnetic signal. To the external information device 100 through the communication magnetic field W. The communication unit 40 receives the control signal Cm from the information device 100 and inputs it to the behavior data calculation unit 30. In addition, the communication unit 40 receives the time signal Sc from the time measuring unit 50 and transmits the transmission / reception time with the information device 100 to the information device 100.

As described above, the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 according to the present invention regards the movement of the target animal body as a vibration phenomenon by the behavior data calculation means 30, and uses the animal body vibration frequency data and vibration amount data to determine the physical properties of the animal. Qualitatively and quantitatively can be recognized and evaluated as momentum data.
In addition, since it is known that the temperature of the subject animal's body is an indicator of the basal metabolic rate of the animal, the body temperature data of the subject animal and the above-mentioned exercise amount data are activity data that reflects the energy metabolism of the animal. Can be evaluated as
Furthermore, since the above-mentioned animal momentum data and activity data include calendar information, what kind of behavioral data (consisting of exercise data and activity data) the animal showed over time Can be analyzed.

[Description of circuit configuration of animal behavior analysis apparatus 1]
Next, the circuit configuration of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 2, the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 includes an acceleration sensor 10, a temperature sensor 20, a microprocessor 7, a storage unit 8, a communication unit 40, and a battery 70. The microprocessor 7 has the function of the behavior data calculation means 30 shown in FIG. Various data calculated or output by the microprocessor 7 is stored in the nonvolatile storage means 8 as storage data Dm. The battery 70 is a thin lithium battery for downsizing the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1.

[Description of the structure of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1]
Next, the structure of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure near the center of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1. 3, the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 has a waterproof structure in which an upper case 60 and a lower case 61 are bonded using an adhesive J. It is also possible to process either the upper case 60 or the lower case 61 so that either the lower case 61 or the upper case 60 has a lid shape.

In the case of the illustrated embodiment, an antenna coil 42, a circuit board 62, and a battery 70 are mounted on the upper case 60, and the antenna coil 42 is affixed to the inner surface of the upper case 60 and connected to the circuit board 62 by a lead wire 41. Has been. Of course, the antenna coil 42 may be made of a printed circuit board.
The circuit board 62 is mounted with an NFC communication chip as the communication means 40, a microprocessor 7, a nonvolatile memory as the storage means 8, the temperature sensor 20, and the acceleration sensor 10, and is not shown. It is fixed to the upper case 60 with a tool. The battery 70 is electrically and mechanically connected to the circuit board 62 by a connection spring 71.

[Explanation of the usage state of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1]
Next, the use state of the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 shows an example in which the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 is mounted on the mouse A using the fixed band B, but in reality, the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1 is often embedded in the body of the mouse A. The information device 100 has a short-range communication function conforming to a standard known as NFCIP-2, and can grasp the dynamics of the mouse A by communicating with the animal behavior analysis apparatus 1.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an animal behavior analysis device that can simultaneously measure the behavior of a plurality of small animals, has a small device, and has the convenience of selecting any measurement location.

1: animal behavior analysis device 7: microprocessor 8: storage means 10: acceleration sensor 20: temperature sensor 30: behavior data calculation means 31: vibration analysis means 32: exercise amount data output means 33: activity amount data output means 40: communication means 41: Lead wire 42: Antenna coil 50: Timekeeping means 60: Upper case 61: Lower case 62: Circuit board 70: Battery 71: Connection spring 100: Information device Sa: Acceleration data Sc: Timekeeping signal St: Temperature data Sn: Vibration Number data Sv: Vibration amount data Sd: Exercise amount data Sk: Activity amount data Ss: Behavior data Cm: Control signal Dm: Storage data W: Communication magnetic field th1: Low threshold th2: High threshold A: Mouse M B: Fixed band

Claims (1)

  Behavior data (Ss) from an acceleration sensor (10), a temperature sensor (20), acceleration data (Sa) acquired by the acceleration sensor (10), and temperature data (St) acquired by the temperature sensor (20) An animal behavior analysis apparatus (1) that is attached to an animal that is integrally provided with a behavior data calculation means (30) that outputs the behavior data (Ss) and a communication means (40) that transmits the behavior data (Ss) to an external information device. The behavior data calculation means (30) includes vibration analysis means (31) for outputting the animal vibration frequency data (Sn) and vibration amount data (Sv) from the acceleration data (Sa), and the vibration. Momentum data output means (32) for calculating the momentum data (Sd) of the animal from the numerical data (Sn) and the vibration amount data (Sv), the temperature data (St) and the momentum Chromatography data (Sd) because the animal behavioral analysis apparatus characterized by comprising a activity data output means (33) for calculating the activity data (Sk) of said animal.

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