Novel small animal waist and back pain detection equipment and method

Abstract

The invention provides novel small animal waist and back pain detection equipment and method.The detection equipment comprises a supporting frame, a rotating piece rotationally arranged on the supporting frame, a supporting structure fixedly arranged on the rotating piece and used for supporting a small animal, and a detection mechanism fixedly arranged on the supporting structure and used for detecting waist and back pain of the small animal, the small animal can continuously run on the supporting structure, the small animal drives the rotating part through the supporting structure when running so that the rotating part can periodically rotate in one direction, the small animal running device further comprises a measuring assembly, and the measuring assembly is used for measuring the running distance, speed and time of the small animal. Through the arrangement of the rotary supporting structure, the small animal can run spontaneously without manual interference, the measuring assembly can measure the movement distance, speed and time of the small animal, and an experimenter can compare the pain threshold level of a mouse with low back pain according to measured data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of animal experiment equipment, and particularly relates to a new small animal low back pain detection device and method. Background Art

[0002] Low back pain is one of the common health problems of the elderly and an important factor affecting the quality of life of the elderly. According to statistics, among the elderly over 60 years old in China, nearly 60% of people suffer from low back pain to varying degrees. Low back pain is often caused by reasons such as osteoporosis, lumbar disc herniation, and fractures. It is a neurodegenerative disease that seriously affects the quality of life of patients. In recent years, there have been more and more animal models of low back pain using mice and rats, but there is still a lack of effective methods in the evaluation of behavior. Currently, the behavioral paradigms for detecting low back pain mainly include dorsal / plantar von frey detection, quadruped weight-bearing analysis, and gait analysis. However, both plantar and dorsal von-frey detections have a large amount of human interference, which has a certain impact on the accurate evaluation of the low back pain threshold. In addition, both quadruped weight-bearing and gait analysis are indirect evaluation methods that reflect the low back pain threshold level based on the behavioral changes of the mouse's plantar surface, because the detection site is far from the low back injury site and it is difficult to directly reflect the true pain level of low back pain. Although there are also some studies that directly detect the mechanical threshold of the mouse's back, due to the lack of dorsal behavioral devices, difficult operability, and human interference, it has not been widely promoted and applied. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a portable device for detecting chronic low back pain in mice, which can reflect the threshold level of low back pain in mice quickly and directly without human interference.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a new small animal low back pain detection device and method, which includes: a support frame, a rotating member rotatably arranged on the support frame, the rotating surface formed by the rotation of the rotating member being perpendicular to the horizontal plane, a support structure fixedly arranged on the rotating member for supporting small animals, the small animals can run continuously on the support structure, and when the small animals are running, they drive the rotating member through the support structure to make the rotating member rotate periodically in one direction, and further includes a measurement component, and the measurement component measures the running distance, speed, and time of the small animals.

[0005] Further, the rotating member is a disc that can rotate around its own center, the end surface of the disc is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the support structure is arranged around the center of the disc.

[0006] Further, the support structure is a plurality of support rods evenly distributed around the center of the disc, and the distance between each support rod and the center of the disc is equal.

[0007] Further, the support structure is a support wall surrounding the end face of the disc and extending in the horizontal direction, and the distance between the support wall at any angle of the disc and the center of the disc is equal.

[0008] Further, it further includes an observation baffle made of a transparent material. The observation baffle is disposed opposite to the disc. The support structure is disposed between the observation baffle and the disc, and the observation baffle is detachably connected to the support structure.

[0009] Further, a fixed shaft is provided on the support frame, and a bearing is provided at the center of the disc. The bearing is in interference fit with the fixed shaft.

[0010] Further, the measurement assembly includes a controller, an optical encoder disposed on the support frame, and an identifier disposed on the disc or the support structure. The optical encoder is electrically connected to the controller.

[0011] Further, the material of the observation baffle is acrylic material.

[0012] The present invention also provides a method for detecting low back pain in small animals, including the following steps:

[0013] S01: Prepare small animals with low back pain as the experimental group and small animals with normal low back as the control group;

[0014] S02: Place the small animals with low back pain in the experimental group and the small animals with normal low back in the control group in the support structure of the device;

[0015] S03: The activity of the small animals in the support structure will spontaneously rotate the support structure. The rotating support structure makes the small animals run continuously in one direction. During the running process of the small animals, the lumbar spine is in a bent state or a horizontal stretching state. The experimenter records the movement speed, movement distance, and movement time of the control group of small animals and the small animals with low back pain during the movement process in the two lumbar spine states through the measurement assembly;

[0016] S04: The experimenter compares the pain threshold levels of the two groups of small animals through the measured data.

[0017] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: Through the setting of the rotating support structure, small animals can run spontaneously without artificial interference, and the measurement assembly can measure the movement distance, speed, and time of small animals. The experimenter can compare the pain threshold levels of small animals with low back pain according to the measured data. Description of the Drawings

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the support structure of the detection device provided by this application.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the support structure of the detection device provided by this application.

[0020] Figure 3 It is a perspective view of the rear view angle of the detection device provided by this application.

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the non-damaging stimulation experiment provided by this application.

[0022] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the damaging stimulation experiment provided by this application.

[0023] The description of the reference numerals is as follows: 1, support frame; 11, photoelectric encoder; 12, turntable; 121, support rod; 122, support wall; 123, identifier. Detailed Embodiments

[0024] Typical embodiments reflecting the features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present invention can have various changes in different embodiments, all of which do not depart from the scope of the present invention, and the descriptions and illustrations therein are for illustrative purposes in essence and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0025] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to this application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the said features. In the description of this application, "a plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0026] To further illustrate the principle and structure of the present invention, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Please refer to Figures 1-5A new type of small animal back pain detection device provided in this embodiment includes a support frame, and a support structure arranged on the support frame, the support structure forms an activity space for the small animal to move, and the small animal can run in the activity space. Under the action of the support structure, the spine of the small animal maintains an arched or stretched state during the running process, and a measuring component is arranged on the support frame, and the measuring component measures the running distance, speed and time of the small animal; during the test, a small animal with back pain and a small animal with normal back are prepared, and the two small animals are placed in the device respectively. The small animals run in the device, and the measuring component records the running distance, speed and time of the two small animals, and the pain thresholds of the small animals with back pain are compared by comparing the distances, speeds and times of the two small animals.

[0028] It is understandable that the device of the present invention is suitable for detecting low back pain in small animals such as mice, rats, and rabbits, and the present invention does not limit the type of experimental animals of the device. The specific structure and use method of the device are described in detail below using the device for detecting low back pain in small animals as an example of detecting low back pain in mice.

[0029] Specifically, a rotating part is provided on the above-mentioned support frame, and a rotating plane formed by the rotation of the rotating part is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The support structure is fixedly arranged on the rotating frame, and the mouse can run continuously on the support structure. When the mouse runs in the activity space formed by the support structure, the mouse's feet will drive the rotating part through the above-mentioned support structure, so that the rotating part and the support structure will rotate periodically in one direction. Under the action of rotational inertia, the mouse will run continuously in one direction in the support structure, and the rotating support structure can provide a longer movement distance in a limited space, so that the mouse can run fully in a smaller space.

[0030] The above-mentioned rotating part is a disk that can rotate around its own center. The end face of the disk is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the center of the circle is located at the center of the end face. The supporting structure mentioned above is arranged around the center of the disk. However, the rotating part is not limited to the disk. The rotating part can also be a ring not shown in the accompanying drawings. As long as the component can rotate around the rotation point and the center of gravity is located at the rotation point, it can be used as the rotating part of the present application. The end face of the disk used as the rotating part of the present application can close one side of the activity space to prevent mice from escaping from one side of the activity space.

[0031] In order to realize the rotation of the disc, a fixed shaft is arranged on the above-mentioned support frame, and a bearing is arranged at the center of the disc, and the bearing is interference fit with the fixed shaft.

[0032] As an embodiment of the support structure of the present invention, the above support structure may be a plurality of support rods evenly distributed around the center of the disc. The axes of the support rods are all parallel to the horizontal plane, and the distance between each support rod and the center of the disc is equal, thereby forming an annular support structure composed of a plurality of support rods. When the mouse runs on this support structure, the support rods can fit more closely with its feet, facilitating the mouse to receive force.

[0033] In this embodiment of the present invention, no specific description is made on the number and size of the support rods. The number and size of the support rods are directly related to the diameter of the annular support structure. As long as the annular structure formed by the support rods can support the mouse to run inside, the present invention does not limit the number and size of the support rods.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it further includes an observation baffle made of a transparent material (not shown in the figure). The observation baffle is disposed opposite to the disc. The support structure is disposed between the observation baffle and the disc. The rotating member of the disc closes one side of the activity space, and the observation baffle can close the other side of the activity space to prevent the mouse from escaping from the activity space. At the same time, the transparent observation baffle does not prevent the experimenter from observing the mouse.

[0035] The above observation baffle can be detachably connected to the support structure. Specifically, in this embodiment, more than two threaded holes are provided on the support structure, and through holes corresponding to the threaded holes are provided on the observation baffle. The observation baffle can be detachably connected to the support member by bolts. In this embodiment, the material of the observation baffle is acrylic, and the threaded holes are provided on the end surface of the support rod away from the rotating member.

[0036] As another embodiment of the support structure of the present invention, in addition to being an annular support structure composed of support rods, the above support structure may also be a support wall that surrounds the end surface of the disc and extends in the horizontal direction. The distance between the support wall at any angle of the disc and the center of the disc is equal, and the support structure is an annular support structure formed by the surrounding of the support wall.

[0037] In this embodiment, a friction structure may be provided on the inner side surface of the support wall. The friction structure can increase the friction force between the mouse's feet and the inner side surface of the support wall, facilitating the mouse to drive the disc to rotate, preventing the mouse from slipping and affecting the rotation of the disc, and the rotation of the disc is interrelated with the measurement component specifically mentioned below. The friction structure can improve the measurement accuracy of the measurement component.

[0038] Further, in this embodiment, it further includes an observation baffle made of a transparent material. The observation baffle is disposed opposite to the disc, and the support structure is disposed between the observation baffle and the disc. The rotating member of the disc closes one side of the activity space, and the observation baffle can close the other side of the activity space to prevent the mice from escaping from the activity space. Meanwhile, the transparent observation baffle does not prevent the experimenter from observing the mice.

[0039] The above-mentioned observation baffle can be detachably connected to the support structure. Specifically, in this embodiment, more than two threaded holes are provided on the support structure, and through holes corresponding to the threaded holes are provided on the observation baffle. The observation baffle can be detachably connected to the support member through bolts. In this embodiment, the material of the observation baffle is acrylic, and the threaded holes are opened on the end face of the support wall away from the rotating member.

[0040] The measurement component described above includes a controller, an optical encoder disposed on the support frame, and an identifier disposed on the disc or the support structure. The optical encoder is electrically connected to the controller. The optical encoder records the number of turns of the disc rotation and transmits the turn number data to the controller in real time. The controller obtains the running distance, speed, and time of the mice according to the test time and the inner wall circumference of the support structure.

[0041] No specific description is made on the number of the rotating member, the support structure, and the measurement component in the above text. In the present invention, a single rotating member, the support structure corresponding to the rotating member, and a single measurement component form a set of experimental units. The number of experimental units on the support frame can be two sets. When the number of experimental units is two sets, the control experiments of mice with low back pain and mice with normal low back can be carried out simultaneously, saving the experimental time and improving the experimental efficiency.

[0042] The following is an experiment under non-injurious stimulation conditions of the present invention. The diameter of the support structure of this experiment is 20 cm. First, place the mice with low back pain in the experimental group and the mice with normal low back in the control group in the support structure of the device, as Figure 4 shown. Since the diameter of the support structure is relatively large, the mice can perform a hunched-back movement (the hunched-back movement is a comfortable movement manifestation) during the running process, and the lumbar spine is basically in a bent state. During the experiment, the mice will spontaneously rotate the above-mentioned support structure and keep running in one direction. At this time, the lumbar spine of the mice is in a hunched-back state. The movement of the control group mice will not be affected, while the lumbar spine of the mice with low back pain in the experimental group is difficult to present a hunched-back state. Therefore, there will be differences in the movement speed and time. The experimenter can record the movement speed, movement distance, and movement time of the control group mice and the mice with low back pain during the movement process. Through these data, the experimenter can compare the pain threshold levels of the two groups of mice.

[0043] The following is an experiment under nociceptive stimulation conditions of the present invention, as Figure 5 shown, the diameter of the support structure of this experiment is half of the diameter of the support structure of the non-nociceptive stimulation experiment, that is, the diameter is 10 cm. The design purpose is to create a pressure on the dorsal spine of the mouse during movement. Whether it is the control group or the experimental group, the spine of the mouse will be in a horizontally stretched state (uncomfortable state) during movement. The movement speed and time of the control group mice will decrease. However, the mice with low back pain already have pain, and in addition, the lumbar spine is forced to be in a horizontal state, further aggravating the pain threshold of low back pain, resulting in a significant reduction in the movement speed and time of the mice. Finally, by comparing the movement speed and time of the experimental group and the control group mice under the large-size device; the movement speed and time of the experimental group and the control group mice under the small-size device, theoretically, the difference measured by the small-size device is larger than the difference measured by the large-size device.

[0044] Through the setting of the rotating support structure, small animals can run spontaneously without artificial interference, and the measuring component can measure the movement distance, speed, and time of small animals. The experimenter can compare the pain threshold levels of mice with low back pain according to the measured data.

[0045] Although the present invention has been described with reference to several exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the terms used are illustrative and exemplary, rather than restrictive. Since the present invention can be embodied in many forms without departing from the spirit or essence of the invention, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details, but should be construed broadly within the spirit and scope defined by the appended claims. Therefore, all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the claims or their equivalents should be covered by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A new small animal low back pain detection device, characterized in that, it includes a support frame, a rotating member rotatably arranged on the support frame, the rotating surface formed by the rotation of the rotating member is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, a support structure fixedly arranged on the rotating member for supporting small animals, and small animals can run continuously on the support structure. When the small animals run, they drive the rotating member through the support structure, so that the rotating member rotates periodically in one direction; it also includes a measurement component, and the measurement component measures the running distance, speed and time of the small animals.

2. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the rotating member is a disc that can rotate around its own center, the end face of the disc is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, and the support structure is arranged around the center of the disc.

3. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the support structure is a plurality of support rods evenly distributed around the center of the disc, and the distance between each support rod and the center of the disc is equal.

4. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the support structure is a support wall that surrounds the end face of the disc and extends in the horizontal direction, and the distance between the support wall at any angle of the disc and the center of the disc is equal.

5. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, it further includes an observation baffle made of a transparent material, the observation baffle is arranged opposite to the disc, the support structure is arranged between the observation baffle and the disc, and the observation baffle is detachably connected to the support structure.

6. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, a fixed shaft is arranged on the support frame, a bearing is arranged at the center of the disc, and the bearing is in interference fit with the fixed shaft.

7. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the measurement component includes a controller, an optical encoder arranged on the support frame, and an identifier arranged on the disc or the support structure, and the optical encoder is electrically connected to the controller.

8. The new small animal low back pain detection device according to claim 5, characterized in that, the material of the observation baffle is acrylic material.

9. A new small animal low back pain detection method, which is applied to the detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, it includes the following steps: S01: Prepare small animals with low back pain as the experimental group and small animals with normal low back as the control group; S02: Place the small animals with low back pain in the experimental group and the small animals with normal low back in the control group in the support structure of the device; S03: The activities of small animals in the support structure will spontaneously rotate the support structure. The rotating support structure makes the small animals keep running in one direction. During the running process, the lumbar spine of the small animals is in a bent state or a horizontally stretched state. The experimenter uses the measurement component to record the running speed, running distance, and running time of the control group of small animals and small animals with low back pain during the movement process in the two lumbar spine states; S04: The experimenter compares the pain threshold levels of the two groups of small animals through the measured data.

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