Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 2024 Nov;411:110270. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110270. Epub 2024 Aug 31.
The development of Raspberry Pi-based recording devices for video analyses of drug self-administration studies has been shown to be promising in terms of affordability, customizability, and capacity to extract in-depth behavioral patterns. Yet, most video recording systems are limited to a few cameras making them incompatible with large-scale studies.
We expanded the PiRATeMC (Pi-based Remote Acquisition Technology for Motion Capture) recording system by increasing its scale, modifying its code, and adding equipment to accommodate large-scale video acquisition, accompanied by data on throughput capabilities, video fidelity, synchronicity of devices, and comparisons between Raspberry Pi 3B+ and 4B models.
Using PiRATeMC default recording parameters resulted in minimal storage (∼350MB/h), high throughput (< ∼120 seconds/Pi), high video fidelity, and synchronicity within ∼0.02 seconds, affording the ability to simultaneously record 60 animals in individual self-administration chambers for various session lengths at a fraction of commercial costs. No consequential differences were found between Raspberry Pi models.
COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S): This system allows greater acquisition of video data simultaneously than other video recording systems by an order of magnitude with less storage needs and lower costs. Additionally, we report in-depth quantitative assessments of throughput, fidelity, and synchronicity, displaying real-time system capabilities.
The system presented is able to be fully installed in a month's time by a single technician and provides a scalable, low cost, and quality-assured procedure with a high-degree of customization and synchronicity between recording devices, capable of recording a large number of subjects and timeframes with high turnover in a variety of species and settings.
基于树莓派的记录设备在药物自我给药研究的视频分析方面具有成本效益高、可定制性强以及能够提取深入行为模式的优势。然而，大多数视频记录系统仅限于少数几个摄像头，因此不适合大规模研究。
我们通过增加规模、修改代码以及添加设备来适应大规模视频采集，扩展了 PiRATeMC（基于树莓派的运动捕捉远程采集技术）记录系统，并提供了有关吞吐量能力、视频保真度、设备同步性以及 Raspberry Pi 3B+和 4B 型号之间比较的数据。
使用 PiRATeMC 的默认记录参数会导致最小的存储量（约 350MB/h）、高吞吐量（<∼120 秒/Pi）、高视频保真度和约 0.02 秒的同步性，从而能够以商业成本的一小部分同时记录 60 只动物在各个自我给药室中的各种实验时长。在 Raspberry Pi 型号之间没有发现明显的差异。
与其他视频记录系统相比，该系统能够同时以数量级方式获取更多的视频数据，同时需要更少的存储空间和更低的成本。此外，我们还报告了吞吐量、保真度和同步性的深入定量评估，展示了实时系统的能力。
该系统可以由一名技术人员在一个月的时间内完全安装，提供了一种可扩展、低成本、质量保证的程序，具有高度的定制化和记录设备之间的同步性，能够在各种物种和环境中记录大量的研究对象和时间段，周转率高。
