Department of Electronic Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan.
Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 13;10(4):e0122394. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122394. eCollection 2015.
This paper describes an infrared-sensing running wheel (ISRW) system for the quantitative measurement of effective exercise activity in rats. The ISRW system provides superior exercise training compared with commercially available traditional animal running platforms. Four infrared (IR) light-emitting diode/detector pairs embedded around the rim of the wheel detect the rat's real-time position; the acrylic wheel has a diameter of 55 cm and a thickness of 15 cm, that is, it is larger and thicker than traditional exercise wheels, and it is equipped with a rubber track. The acrylic wheel hangs virtually frictionless, and a DC motor with an axially mounted rubber wheel, which has a diameter of 10 cm, drives the acrylic wheel from the outer edge. The system can automatically train rats to run persistently. The proposed system can determine effective exercise activity (EEA), with the IR sensors (which are connected to a conventional PC) recording the rat exercise behavior. A prototype of the system was verified by a hospital research group performing ischemic stroke experiments on rats by considering middle cerebral artery occlusion. The experimental data demonstrated that the proposed system provides greater neuroprotection in an animal stroke model compared with a conventional treadmill and a motorized running wheel for a given exercise intensity. The quantitative exercise effectiveness indicator showed a 92% correlation between an increase in the EEA and a decrease in the infarct volume. This indicator can be used as a noninvasive and objective reference in clinical animal exercise experiments.
本文描述了一种用于定量测量大鼠有效运动活动的红外感应跑步轮（ISRW）系统。与市售的传统动物跑步平台相比，ISRW 系统提供了更好的运动训练。四个嵌入轮辋周围的红外（IR）发光二极管/探测器对实时检测大鼠的位置；丙烯酸轮的直径为 55 厘米，厚度为 15 厘米，即比传统的运动轮更大更厚，并配备了橡胶轨道。丙烯酸轮几乎无摩擦地悬挂，一个带有轴向安装的橡胶轮的直流电机，直径为 10 厘米，从外边缘驱动丙烯酸轮。该系统可以自动训练大鼠持续跑步。所提出的系统可以确定有效运动活动（EEA），IR 传感器（与传统 PC 相连）记录大鼠的运动行为。一个系统原型由一家医院研究小组通过考虑大脑中动脉闭塞在大鼠上进行缺血性中风实验进行了验证。实验数据表明，与传统跑步机和电动跑步轮相比，在给定的运动强度下，该系统在动物中风模型中提供了更大的神经保护作用。定量运动效果指标显示，EEA 的增加与梗死体积的减少之间存在 92%的相关性。该指标可作为临床动物运动实验的一种非侵入性和客观的参考。
