Noorshams Omid, Boyd Jamie D, Murphy Timothy H
Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
J Neurosci Methods. 2017 Jun 15;285:1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.05.002. Epub 2017 May 3.
Operant training systems make use of water or food restriction and make it necessary to weigh animals to ensure compliance with experimental endpoints. In other applications periodic weighing is necessary to assess drug side-effects, or as an endpoint in feeding experiments. Periodic weighing while essential can disrupt animal circadian rhythms and social structure.
Automatic weighing system within paired mouse homecages. Up to 10 mice freely move between two cages (28×18×9cm) which were connected by a weighing chamber mounted on a load cell. Each mouse was identified using an RFID tag placed under the skin of the neck. A single-board computer (Raspberry Pi; RPi) controls the task, logging RFID tag, load cell weights, and time stamps from each RFID detection until the animal leaves the chamber. Collected data were statistically analyzed to estimate mouse weights. We anticipate integration with tasks where automated imaging or behaviour is assessed in homecages.
Mice frequently move between the two cages, an average of 42+-16 times/day/mouse at which time we obtained weights. We report accurate determination of mouse weight and long term monitoring over 53days. Comparison with existing methods Although commercial systems are available for automatically weighing rodents, they only work with single animals, or are not open source nor cost effective for specific custom application.
This automated system permits automated weighing of mice ∼40 times per day. The system employs inexpensive hardware and open-source Python code.
操作性训练系统利用水或食物限制，因此有必要对动物进行称重以确保符合实验终点。在其他应用中，定期称重对于评估药物副作用或作为喂养实验的终点是必要的。虽然定期称重至关重要，但它可能会扰乱动物的昼夜节律和社会结构。
配对小鼠饲养笼内的自动称重系统。多达10只小鼠可在两个笼子（28×18×9厘米）之间自由移动，这两个笼子通过安装在称重传感器上的称重室相连。每只小鼠通过置于颈部皮肤下的射频识别（RFID）标签进行识别。单板计算机（树莓派；RPi）控制该任务，记录RFID标签、称重传感器重量以及每次RFID检测的时间戳，直到动物离开称重室。对收集的数据进行统计分析以估算小鼠体重。我们预计该系统可与在饲养笼中评估自动成像或行为的任务相结合。
小鼠频繁在两个笼子之间移动，平均每天每只小鼠移动42±16次，此时我们获取了体重数据。我们报告了对小鼠体重的准确测定以及长达53天的长期监测情况。与现有方法的比较：虽然有商业系统可用于自动称量啮齿动物，但它们仅适用于单只动物，或者不是开源的，对于特定的定制应用而言成本效益不高。
该自动化系统允许每天对小鼠进行约40次自动称重。该系统采用了廉价的硬件和开源的Python代码。
