KR102265346B1 - Small Animal Moving Trajectory Analysis System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention improves accuracy while reducing the size of a product without imaging by analyzing the gait and movement trajectory on a pressure sensitive plate in a pressure sensing method when analyzing the movement characteristics of small animals for neurobiology, psychology, psychopharmacology, and physiology research. It relates to a small animal movement trajectory analysis system.

Description

Small Animal Moving Trajectory Analysis System

The present invention relates to an animal movement trajectory analysis system, and in detail, when analyzing the movement characteristics of a small animal for neurobiology, psychology, psychopharmacology, and physiology research, it analyzes the gait and movement trajectory on the pressure-sensitive plate in a pressure sensing method. It relates to a small animal movement trajectory analysis system that improves accuracy while reducing the size of a product without taking pictures.

In the fields of neurobiology, psychology, psychopharmacology, and physiology, it is essential to measure and analyze animal behavior for experimental purposes. Experiments are conducted using animals as model animals.

These behavioral experiments play a fundamental and important role in research in the fields of neuroscience and brain science, and can not only understand a lot of animal behavior, but also understand environmental factors, drugs, or neuromodulation that affect animal behavior.

Among various methods to analyze animal behavior, research on locomotor activities characterizes and quantifies the behavioral state of animals, and various types of behavior measurement systems are attempted for analysis. have.

Conventionally, the types commonly used are an infrared photobeam system and a video tracking system, which have the advantage of being able to record movement traces in the movement of animals.

However, since they are based on sensors or cameras installed on one side, it is not possible to identify various behavioral types of animals through a single sensor or camera. In particular, a complex and expensive decoding program to analyze animal movements through a video tracking system (decoding programs) are required. Furthermore, since the image was taken from the upper side of the animal, there were limitations in analyzing the stance phase, swing phase, impact coefficient, stride length, gait cycle and time, and symmetry that could be identified through the contact position of the foot.

Recently, attempts have been made to detect behavioral characteristics by attaching an acceleration sensor to the body of an animal, but there is a problem that it cannot be applied to small animals that can be used at the laboratory level.

A system for analyzing using methods such as ultrasound, vibration, and touch sensor has also been proposed, but this method cannot properly detect when there is external vibration or ultrasound, and the touch sensor only detects contact, so specific animal gait characteristics There were limitations to the analysis.

Japanese Patent Registration No. 4399476 (2009.10.30)

The present invention was created to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the size and resources of a product by measuring and analyzing the walking state and movement trajectory of a small animal on a pressure sensitive plate without image analysis in a pressure sensing method. It is to provide a small animal movement trajectory analysis system that can improve the analysis accuracy while still being there.

For the above purpose, the present invention provides a movement trajectory analysis system, comprising: a walking unit having a thin film structure of an elastic material in which a small animal walks upward; a decompression unit in which a plurality of decompression elements are arranged in a lattice form, the decompression unit is installed on the lower side of the walking unit and is in contact with the walking unit in response to the footsteps of an animal located on the upper side walking unit, and the position and pressure are detected; a controller for generating gait information including the gait speed, stride length and movement trajectory of the animal by reflecting the detection result of the decompression unit; characterized in that it consists of

In this case, the pressure reducing unit may further include a lifting unit that adjusts the distance from the walking unit by changing the height.

In addition, it is preferable that the walking part further includes a plurality of protrusions arranged in a lattice form on the rear surface, and the pressure-sensitive element is arranged in the same pattern as the arrangement pattern of the protrusions.

In addition, it is preferable that the walking part crosses the rear surface at a set interval and is formed at a set interval and further includes an elastic part to which a contracting force acts, and the decompression part has pressure-sensitive elements arranged at intervals corresponding to the elastic part. Do.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a wall part of a transparent material that is installed on the upper, front, rear, left, and right sides of the upper side of the walking part, respectively, and can control the distance between the front and rear and left and right.

In addition, the image processing unit for image processing the gait information to image the measured value according to the animal's gait, and an image analysis unit having a display for visually outputting the information imaged by the image conversion unit; may further include.

The present invention is economical by analyzing the movements of small animals at the laboratory level with a simple structure without means for image acquisition and analysis as in the prior art, and it is possible to analyze various behavioral patterns of animals the same as or more than the existing behavioral analysis devices. .

In particular, it can be applied to most small animals of a certain weight or more by using a number of decompression elements, and it is applicable to the pressure, walking speed, stance phase, swing phase, impact coefficient, stride length, gait cycle and gait time according to animal gait. And the symmetry can be calculated.

In addition, gait analysis can be performed under conditions optimized for the target animal by adjusting the sensor contact sensitivity in response to the animal's weight.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a side cross-sectional view according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a structural diagram of a walking unit and a decompression unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a block diagram showing the configuration and connection relationship according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a perspective view showing a wall structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the small animal movement trajectory analysis system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration and connection relationship according to an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is basically in the form of a plate, so that the test subject is located on the upper side so that movement and gait motions are made and analyzed. For this purpose, the main components of the walking unit 1, the decompression unit 3 and the control unit 4 configuration will be provided.

The walking unit 1 generally has a plate-shaped structure in which a small animal can walk from the upper side, and in particular, the present invention has a size that can be used as a test subject for a small animal such as a mouse that can be used in a laboratory unit. . It is preferable to form a rectangular shape, but the shape is not limited.

Specifically, it is a film made of rubber or synthetic resin on the upper side of a flat box-shaped body with an open space on the upper side, and is elastic as a small animal is located on the upper side. designed to expand.

This is because the decompression method is applied in the present invention to solve the enlargement, complexity, and price increase of the equipment according to the conventional imaging and analysis. It allows for smooth detection of traces.

The decompression unit 3 is installed close to the lower side of the walking unit 1 and is a sensor plate for sensing pressure from the upper side, and corresponds to the foot of an animal located on the upper side walking unit 1, the walking unit ( 1) The position and pressure are sensed according to the contact.

To this end, the decompression unit 3 is provided with a plurality of small decompression elements 31 and arranged in a lattice form to measure the position and intensity of pressure generation, and pressure measurement is performed with hundreds to thousands of decompression element sensor nodes. It is configured to measure not only multi-touch but also pressure distribution.

As mentioned at this time, even if the walking unit 1 has elasticity, the degree of stretching downward according to the weight of the animal located on the upper side varies, and this inevitably affects the measurement result of the decompression unit 3 . That is, since light animals and heavy animals have different degrees of being pressed on the same walking unit 1, by adjusting the height of the decompression unit 3, the elevating unit 32 that can adjust the distance from the upper side walking unit 1 is provided. need to be provided.

The lifting unit 32 allows the height of the decompression unit 3 to be adjusted in response to the weight of the animal. In the case of a light animal, the decompression unit 3 is raised so that the decompression unit 3 is close to the walking unit 1 on the upper side of the animal. In this case, the height of the decompression unit 3 is made relatively low to allow smooth measurement and analysis according to the test subject.

Elevating and lowering of the decompression unit 3 can be made in various ways, and in the accompanying drawings, in a preferred embodiment, the bolts protruding from both sides of the decompression unit and the bolts are penetrated through the vertical structure in which a long groove is formed so as to be movable up and down, and the It shows a state composed of a nut that is fastened to the bolt part penetrating the vertical structure to fix the height. In addition, by using a rack-and-pinion gear and an electric motor to adjust the height of the decompression unit 3 in an electric way, the height of the lifting unit 32 is automatically adjusted in response to the type and weight of the small animal to be tested. It is also possible to

The control unit 4 basically reflects the detection result of the decompression unit 3 to generate walking information including the walking speed, stride length, and movement trajectory of the animal.

As mentioned above, the gait information accumulates pressure and sensed positions through a plurality of decompression elements 31 over time, and the gait speed, stride length, and movement trajectory of the animal can be tracked and analyzed.

In this case, the image conversion unit 51 and the image analysis unit 5 provided with the display 52 may be provided to visualize the walking information in the form of a three-dimensional graph or a distribution map to facilitate confirmation.

The image conversion unit 51 processes the gait information to image the numerical values including pressure, speed, stance phase, swing phase, impact coefficient, crawling, speed, period, time and symmetry generated according to the gait of the animal. will do That is, according to the pressure sensing of the decompression unit 3, the control unit 4 generates gait information including the gait speed, stride length, and movement trajectory of the animal and converts it into an image. An algorithm is provided to calculate the pressure, walking speed, stance phase, swing phase, impact coefficient, stride length, walking cycle and walking time, and symmetry according to leg contact. These information are imaged through a 30Hz imaging process.

The display 52 is an output means for providing imaging data, and visually outputs the information imaged by the image conversion unit 51 .

3 is a structural diagram of a walking unit and a decompression unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As mentioned above, the walking part 1 basically stretches through the pressure of the foot of a small animal and contacts the decompression unit 3 to sense the position and pressure, but the animal's foot directly contacts the decompression unit 3 . As contact with the decompression unit 3 is made through the walking unit 1 having a thin film structure, the walking unit 1 and the decompression unit ( 3) Sliding occurs between them, which may impair the reliability of the detection result.

In order to prevent such slippage, the walking part 1 further includes a plurality of protrusions 11 arranged in a lattice form on the rear surface, and the pressure-sensitive element 31 is preferably arranged in the same pattern as the arrangement pattern of the protrusions. Do.

That is, a plurality of projections 11 are arranged in a lattice form on the side where animals do not contact in the walking part 1, so that the projections 11 come into contact with the pressure reducing element 31 and accurately sense it. A more accurate contact recognition can be achieved even when slip occurs or a gait motion is inaccurate.

In addition, if the area of the walking unit 1 is large or the volume occupied by small animals is large, the walking unit 1 and the decompression water 3 can be walked even if the distance is widened through the lifting unit 32 of the walking unit 1 Accuracy may be lowered by unnecessary pressing of the part (1).

In order to solve this problem, as a reinforcement means for preventing unnecessary pressing of the walking part 1 other than the foot, the walking part 1 traverses the back in the horizontal and vertical directions and is formed at a set interval, but an elastic part ( 12) will be included. The elastic part 12 is formed to have a relatively higher elasticity than that of the walking part 1, and serves to reinforce the walking part 1 so that unnecessary compression and sagging do not occur. Preferably, a thin wire is used. Reinforcement can be made in the form of arranging and fixing springs having a small diameter in the transverse and longitudinal directions through them.

Although the accompanying drawings show the configuration of 11 and 4 elastic parts 12 horizontally and vertically, respectively, it is possible to configure an appropriate number of elastic parts 12 according to the total area of the walking part 1 . self-evident

Correspondingly, in the pressure reducing unit 3, the pressure reducing element 31 is arranged at an interval corresponding to the width of the elastic unit 12 in order to prevent being affected by the measurement due to contact with the elastic unit 12. It is configured so that the sensing according to the contact with the elastic part 12 is not made.

5 is a perspective view showing a wall structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For the gait analysis of small animals, it is basically necessary to limit the actionable range to the upper part of the walking unit 1, and for this purpose, a means such as a transparent wall is required.

At this time, in the present invention, in order to adjust the range in response to the size of various animals, the wall part ( 2) is provided.

The wall part 2 is basically made of a wall 21 of a transparent material, and is composed of four walls 21 so that the front, rear, left, right, and right, respectively, the wall 21 can be divided. Basically, the front and rear walls have a size corresponding to the full width of the walking unit 1, and the left and right walls have a size corresponding to the entire length of the walking unit 1, but have a height that animals cannot jump over.

In addition, for size adjustment, cutouts 211 of a set interval are formed in the vertical direction in each wall 21 , and the directions of the cutouts 211 are different between the walls to be fastened so that they are mutually fastened. In the accompanying drawings, a plurality of cutouts in a form partially cut from the top to the bottom are installed on the front and back walls, and a plurality of cutouts are installed on the left and right walls in a form partially cut from the bottom to the top.

That is, the wall to be fastened adjacently in the direction of the cutout 211 is different to be combined and separated in the vertical direction, and this is temporarily installed on the upper side of the walking part 1 through a separate structure. Accurate gait analysis can be made by providing a walking space suitable for the size of the person.

The rights of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, but are defined by the claims, and those of ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the claims. it is self-evident

1: walking part 11: protrusion 12: elastic part
2: wall part 21: wall 211: cutout
3: decompression unit 31: decompression element 32: elevating unit
4: Control
5: image analysis unit 51: image conversion unit 52: display

Claims (6)

In the movement trajectory analysis system,
A walking unit (1) having a thin-film structure made of an elastic material in which a small animal can walk upwards;
A plurality of decompression elements 31 are arranged in a lattice form and installed on the lower side of the walking unit 1, in contact with the walking unit 1 in response to the footsteps of an animal located on the upper side walking unit 1, and the position and pressure are sensed. a decompression unit (3) made of, and further comprising an elevating unit (32) configured to change the height to adjust the distance with the walking unit (1);
a control unit (4) that reflects the detection result of the decompression unit (3) to generate walking information including the walking speed, stride length, and movement trajectory of the animal; Small animal movement trajectory analysis system, characterized in that consisting of.
delete According to claim 1,
The walking part 1 further includes a plurality of protrusions 11 arranged in a lattice form on the rear surface,
The decompression element (31) is a small animal movement trajectory analysis system, characterized in that arranged in the same pattern as the arrangement pattern of the projection (11).
According to claim 1,
The walking part (1) further includes an elastic part (12) that is formed at a set interval to cross the rear surface in the horizontal and vertical directions, and a contractile force acts thereon,
In the decompression unit (3), the small animal movement trajectory analysis system, characterized in that the decompression elements (31) are arranged at intervals corresponding to the elastic units (12).
According to claim 1,
The small animal movement trajectory analysis system, characterized in that it further comprises a wall part (2) of a transparent material that is installed on the upper, front, rear, left and right sides of the upper side of the walking part (1), and can adjust the distance between the front and back and left and right sides.
According to claim 1,
An image having an image conversion unit 51 for image processing the gait information to image a numerical value measured according to an animal's gait, and a display 52 for visually outputting the information imaged by the image conversion unit 51 analysis unit 5; Small animal movement trajectory analysis system, characterized in that it further comprises.

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