Automated Foot Misplacement - Kinetic Weight Bearing Test
The Kinetic Weight Bearing (KWB) system is an alternative method generating quantitative data on footprints and gait in spontaneously moving animals.
- Real time analysis and review process embedded in a single application programme interface
- Available for rats and for mice
- Measures gait parameters as well as max force/propulsion time applied for each step and each paw laid on the floor
- Correct trials detected (speed) and automatically split from A SINGLE video file
- Records Gravity Center Path and video barycenter
- Displays each run results and averaged results from homogeneous runs
- Automatic software routine for paw identification from the first step to the end of the run
- Front wall easily removable for cleaning
- Adjustable corridor width
- Target zone fits animal home cage
The Kinetic Weight Bearing (KWB) system is an alternative method generating quantitative data on footprints and gait in spontaneously moving animals.
The unique "sensor-mat" technology originally designed for the Dynamic Weight Bearing application has been refined and adapted to make kinetic analysis possible. This allows the weight borne by each individual paw to be tracked during a walking sequence in a corridor. The Kinetic Weight Bearing Instrument provides additional information on applied weight as well as the speed and acceleration of each paw as the animal moves toward an end point of the runway platform. This additional information provides data on coordination and gait comparison paw to paw and step to step. The system combines the video of a freely walking rodent (mouse or rat) with the pressure applied by each paw in real time using an array of not less than 4000 or 6000 sensors depending on the corridor's length. Operation principle
The Kinetic Weight Bearing (KWB) Instrument offers automated parameter analysis for each paw of a rodent on Maximum Force (mN), Mass Velocity (N/s), and Maximum surface area (cm2). Additional Gait Parameters are also analyzed, speed, cadence, overlaps, and step patterns, are all compared and statistically processed. An automated analysis package is available for automatic analysis of a batch of experiments, saving time in analysis, and making the results more consistent and less operator dependent.
The instrument combines the video of a freely moving rodent with the data supplied by the mat including up to 6000 sensors that cover the full length of a corridor at the end of which lies the animal's home cage. Gait analysis can be carried out, and can be applied in the study of diseases such as CNS ischemia, SCI, and Neurotrauma, for example.
The rising time to the maximum force of each animal step differs across different animal models. The KWB is able to compare the path of the animal's "Geometric Center of Gravity" with the actual "Weighted Center of Gravity", and show significant differences. Changes in weight distribution from left to right, front to back and contra-lateral compensation are easily measured, thus providing useful information for your research work on nociception and analgesia.
Gait analysis has been extensively used in phenotyping of CNS diseases such as cerebral ischemia, neurodegenerative diseases, Spinal Cord Injury models and some pain models like neurotrauma (Nerve Crush, SNI). The kinetic weight bearing system adds a major feature to existing gait analysis systems by including the measurement of the force applied by each individual paw to the floor the animal is walking upon.
The different configuration include a stand alone corridor set of three bearing sensors pads and interface camera HD and a KWB licence for real time acquisition.
Parameters measured:
- Scored prints/total
- Steps number for each paw
- Animal speed
- Paw speed
- Cadence
- BoS front rear
- Overlap left/right
- Animal weight (g)
- Mean forces/weight ratio
- Peak force for each paw/animal weight
- Peak surface for each paw
- Stride length /paw
- Swing duration /paw (s)
- Stance duration/ paw (s)
- Propulsion duration /paw (s)
- Step duration /paw (s)
- Ratio of any 2 parameters