Sealed animal running machine

Abstract

The utility model provides a sealed animal treadmill system which comprises an integrally sealed treadmill box body, a silica gel sealing ring and a presser lock catch are arranged on the edge of the treadmill box body, and internal sealing is achieved through extrusion of the silica gel sealing ring and the presser lock catch so as to monitor carbon dioxide output and oxygen consumption. Transparent observation windows are arranged on the top and the side face and used for observing the motion state of animals in the running machine in real time from the outside; and the ventilation interface is used for extracting gas exhaled by animals as sampling gas and sending the sampling gas to the sensor analysis module, and the gas which is not extracted is discharged through a vacuum pump. According to the utility model, the silica gel sealing ring is tightly matched with the presser lock catch, so that the integral sealing inside the treadmill is realized, the gas leakage is effectively prevented, the real-time monitoring data of the carbon dioxide generation amount and the oxygen consumption amount are ensured to be accurate, and a reliable experimental environment is provided for scientific research.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to biomedical research, specifically to a sealed animal treadmill. Background Technology

[0002] In the scientific exploration of biomedicine, exercise physiology, and nutrition, in-depth analysis of the energy metabolism mechanisms of animals during exercise is of immeasurable value for revealing the mysteries of energy conversion in organisms, scientifically assessing the multidimensional impact of exercise on the health of organisms, and innovatively developing treatment strategies for related diseases. Unfortunately, most animal energy metabolism testing equipment currently available on the market is limited to measurements under static conditions, meaning that energy metabolism can only be assessed when animals are at rest. This situation seriously hinders researchers' in-depth understanding of the full picture of energy metabolism in animals during dynamic exercise.

[0003] While resting-state energy metabolism measurements can provide researchers with fundamental data, they cannot accurately and comprehensively reflect the metabolic state of animals during active exercise. During exercise, a series of key physiological indicators, such as respiratory rate, metabolic rate, heart rate, and body temperature, undergo significant and dynamic fluctuations. These changes are crucial for accurately quantifying an animal's energy expenditure, assessing its exercise endurance, and understanding its metabolic adaptation. Therefore, developing a device capable of tracking and measuring an animal's respiratory metabolic rate in real time during exercise is particularly urgent.

[0004] Existing animal energy metabolism testing devices within the current technological framework exhibit certain limitations in both design and functionality. While some devices can monitor respiratory metabolic characteristics in animals, their application is strictly limited to the resting state, failing to effectively adapt to the complex and variable physiological states of animals during movement. Other devices, although attempting to incorporate motion monitoring functions, perform poorly in terms of data acquisition accuracy and timeliness, making it difficult to meet the stringent requirements of high-precision scientific research.

[0005] More importantly, the behavioral characteristics of animals during movement, including but not limited to movement speed, distance traveled, and signs of exhaustion, are also indispensable indicators for assessing their energy metabolism. However, current market devices generally lack the ability to simultaneously monitor these behavioral parameters and respiratory metabolic parameters, which undoubtedly greatly limits the depth and breadth of research and hinders researchers from comprehensively and deeply exploring the energy metabolism patterns of animals during exercise. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an innovative device that can overcome the limitations of existing technology and achieve comprehensive, real-time, and accurate measurement of energy metabolism in animals during exercise. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of the deficiencies in the existing technology, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a sealed animal treadmill.

[0007] A sealed animal treadmill system according to this utility model includes:

[0008] A fully sealed treadmill housing with silicone sealing rings and clamping buckles on its edges, which achieve internal sealing by compression of the two, and is used to monitor carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption.

[0009] Transparent observation windows are provided on the top and sides for real-time external observation of the animal's movement within the treadmill;

[0010] The ventilation port is used to extract the gas exhaled by the animal as sampling gas and send it to the sensor analysis module. The gas that is not extracted is discharged through a vacuum pump.

[0011] Preferably, it further includes: a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism including a servo motor, the servo motor driving a belt to rotate via a transmission shaft; an coded sensor is installed on the motor shaft for real-time monitoring of the motor's position and speed, and feeding the data back to the control system.

[0012] Preferably, the control system adjusts the speed and position of the servo motor by comparing the difference between the target value and the actual value, based on external system commands and feedback information from coded sensors.

[0013] Preferably, it further includes: an electrical stimulation push rod, which is disposed inside the treadmill and used to stimulate the animal to move continuously.

[0014] Preferably, the treadmill is equipped with a running platform angle adjustment rod at the bottom, which is connected to the controller and automatically adjusts the running platform tilt angle via the controller button.

[0015] Preferably, the silicone sealing ring is a detachable and replaceable structure.

[0016] Preferably, the air exchange interface and air intake interface adopt RJ45 plugs.

[0017] Preferably, the treadmill is equipped with an electrical stimulation grid and a sound stimulator.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] 1. This utility model achieves overall sealing of the treadmill interior through the tight fit between the silicone sealing ring and the clamping buckle, effectively preventing gas leakage and ensuring accurate real-time monitoring data of carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption, thus providing a reliable experimental environment for scientific research.

[0020] 2. The observation windows set on the top and sides of this utility model allow the experimenters to observe the animal's movement status in all directions and in real time without disturbing the animal's movement, which facilitates timely recording and analysis of experimental data and improves the intuitiveness and efficiency of the experiment.

[0021] 3. The combination of the ventilation interface and vacuum pump, along with the application of the filter, not only ensures the representativeness of the sampled gas but also continuously provides clean air for the animals inside the treadmill. At the same time, the built-in gas mixing fan ensures the uniform distribution of gas components, eliminates the potential influence of the animal's position on the sampling results, and improves the accuracy and repeatability of experimental data. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Other features, objects, and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this application;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this application.

[0025] in:

[0026] Openable top panel 1, motor 8

[0027] Observation window 2, air intake 9

[0028] 3 silicone sealing rings, 10 gas mixing fans

[0029] Ventilation port 4, drive shaft 11

[0030] Electrical stimulation push rod 5 Driven shaft 12

[0031] Adjustable speed running belt 6; feces and urine collection trough 13

[0032] Clamping device lock 7; running table angle adjustment rod 14 Detailed Implementation

[0033] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the present invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0034] Example 1:

[0035] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2According to the present invention, a sealed animal treadmill system includes:

[0036] A fully sealed treadmill housing with silicone sealing rings and clamping buckles on its edges, which achieve internal sealing by compression of the two, and is used to monitor carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption.

[0037] Transparent observation windows are provided on the top and sides for real-time external observation of the animal's movement within the treadmill;

[0038] The ventilation port is used to extract the gas exhaled by the animal as sampling gas and send it to the sensor analysis module. The gas that is not extracted is discharged through a vacuum pump.

[0039] The drive mechanism includes a servo motor that drives a belt to rotate via a transmission shaft. An coded sensor is mounted on the motor shaft to monitor the position and speed of the motor in real time and feed the data back to the control system.

[0040] An electrical stimulation push rod is installed inside a treadmill to stimulate continuous movement in animals.

[0041] The control system adjusts the speed and position of the servo motor by comparing the target value with the actual value, based on external system commands and feedback information from coded sensors. A running platform angle adjustment lever is located at the bottom of the treadmill, connected to the controller, allowing automatic adjustment of the running platform tilt angle via a controller button. The silicone sealing ring is removable and replaceable. The air exchange and intake ports use RJ45 connectors. The treadmill is equipped with an electrical stimulation grid and a sound stimulator.

[0042] Example 2:

[0043] According to this utility model, a treadmill device for studying animal energy metabolism includes a treadmill body, a respiratory metabolism monitoring system, a data acquisition controller, and host computer software. The treadmill body is connected to the respiratory metabolism monitoring system, the data acquisition controller, and the host computer software. The treadmill body includes an air intake system, which includes a pre-filter and an air intake interface. The pre-filter is used to purify external air and continuously supply air to the treadmill through the air intake interface. A gas mixing fan is installed inside the treadmill to mix the air inside the treadmill. Both the air entering and exiting the treadmill are connected to filters. The system continuously provides fresh air to the treadmill.

[0044] The treadmill body is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy and includes a 2mm thick running belt with a pre-treated surface. The treadmill body is also equipped with a servo motor with a signal feedback system, which collects running speed information in real time. The respiratory and metabolic monitoring system includes gas monitoring, exercise monitoring, respiration monitoring, and weight monitoring. The gas monitoring can monitor oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange rate, and caloric parameters.

[0045] VO2 = ViO2i - VoO2o

[0046] VCO2 = VoCO2o - ViCO2i

[0047] RER=VCO2 / VO2

[0048] in:

[0049] Vi = Air volume input into the cage per unit time; Vo = Air volume output from the cage per unit time; O2i = Percentage of oxygen content in Vi; CO2i = Percentage of carbon dioxide content in Vi; O2o = Percentage of oxygen content in Vo; CO2o = Percentage of carbon dioxide content in Vo; The percentage of oxygen content is determined by a zirconia sensor. When the oxygen concentration in the gas changes, it causes a change in the conductivity of zirconia. This change is converted into an electrical signal output, which is then read and processed by electronic equipment to measure the oxygen concentration. The percentage of carbon dioxide content is determined by an electrochemical sensor, which relies on the change in current generated by the reaction of CO2 with the electrolyte to measure the CO2 concentration.

[0050] The motion monitoring system tracks animal movement-related information, including movement speed, distance traveled, total time, number of times to exhaustion, number of falls, and electrical stimulation duration. Respiratory monitoring tracks respiratory parameters, including respiratory rate and tidal volume. Weight monitoring tracks weight information, including food intake, water intake, and body weight. The data acquisition controller allows manual adjustment of the treadmill's current and angle, control of the circulating fan, reset, and ventilation, as well as adjustment and display of sampling flow rate. It is equipped with an air source interface, power port, calibration interface, and USB interface. The host computer software monitors and displays multiple animal data in real time, including oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange rate, calories burned, activity level, food intake, water intake, body weight, respiratory rate, body temperature, movement speed, distance traveled, total time, number of times to exhaustion, number of falls, and electrical stimulation duration. It also features data analysis and graphing functions and can export raw data to Excel, TXT, and JPG formats. The treadmill device can control different inclination angles of the treadmill according to a preset time program to simulate different exercise intensities and perform online measurements.

[0051] This utility model provides a treadmill device for studying animal energy metabolism, comprising:

[0052] The data acquisition controller is used for data acquisition and system operation control. The buttons on the front allow manual adjustment of the treadmill current and angle, control of the circulating fan, reset button, ventilation, and sampling flow rate display. The sides have gas source interfaces, power ports, calibration interfaces, and USB interfaces; connect the corresponding cables according to the markings. It features a built-in high-performance gas analyzer capable of withstanding high gas flow rates without noise, meeting IACUC ventilation standards. The high airflow rate also avoids the adverse effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ammonia concentrations on animal physiology and cognition. It employs mass flow control technology, allowing direct setting of ventilation and sampling flow rates within the experimental chamber via software, ensuring high accuracy and reliability. All signal interfaces use high-quality RJ45 connectors with push-pull self-locking and shielding protection, capable of withstanding tens of thousands of frequent plugging and unplugging cycles.

[0053] Respiratory metabolic monitoring systems assess heat production by calculating the amount of oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange during metabolism. The relationship between the amount of gas consumed (oxygen) and the metabolites produced (carbon dioxide) reveals the energy content of the food consumed by the laboratory animals. This "calorific value" is then used to calculate heat production through gas exchange. A modified formula can be used for caloric calculations.

[0054] VO2 = ViO2i - VoO2o

[0055] VCO2 = VoCO2o - ViCO2i

[0056] RER=VCO2 / VO2

[0057] in:

[0058] Vi = the amount of air entering the cage per unit time

[0059] Vo = the amount of air output from the cage per unit time

[0060] O2i = Percentage of oxygen content in Vi

[0061] CO2i = Percentage of carbon dioxide content in Vi

[0062] O2o = Percentage of oxygen content in VO

[0063] CO2o = Percentage of carbon dioxide in Vo

[0064] Caloricity is calculated using the calorific value (Cv) of food metabolism. The Cv is related to the Relative Energy Flow (RER), a relationship tabulated by Lusk (1928). An acceptable RER range is (0.707 to 1.0), with an available caloric value of 4.686 to 5.047 kcal / L oxygen. Within the RER range, Oxymax uses linear interpolation to determine the Cv. The Cv is then used to calculate the heat generated by oxygen consumption.

[0065] Heat = Cv * VO2

[0066] Users can also input their own calculation formulas into the software to calculate calories.

[0067] The animal experimental treadmill chamber is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy, which is lightweight and high-strength. The 2mm thick running belt features a special surface treatment to prevent foot injury. The servo motor with a signal feedback system ensures real-time data acquisition without speed loss. The integrated design eliminates external wiring, resulting in a sleek and aesthetically pleasing appearance, high integration, and space-saving design. Compared to traditional sealed metabolic systems, the test chamber does not require sealing; it uses a fully pull-out design, eliminating the need for animals to familiarize themselves with the new environment. Independent control of ventilation and sampling flow rates allows for continuous high-speed airflow without affecting experimental data. A built-in gas mixing fan ensures excellent gas uniformity, unaffected by animal position.

[0068] Host computer software: Processes and displays the data collected in real time.

[0069] Experiment Setup and Data Acquisition: Administrators can add experimenters in the "Personnel Management" module; check "Equipment Status" to confirm normal communication between the software and all controllers; "Operating Status" allows real-time viewing of the fault status of equipment sensors, and historical equipment fault information can be viewed in "View Operating Status"; Ventilation Flow Rate Setting: Open the "Experiment Setup" dialog box, in the "Set Flow Rate" module, select the channel number, and click "Set" to enter calibration mode. Set the suction flow rate according to the number of animals and channels (1 L / min recommended for mice, 2 L / min recommended for rats, and 0.5 L / min recommended for sampling flow rate), and click "Save Settings" after setting.

[0070] Sensor calibration (optional): Automatic calibration function is available. Oxygen and carbon dioxide detectors can be automatically calibrated by the acquisition software in ≤5 minutes.

[0071] Set the environmental monitoring cycle: Open "Display Settings" and set the environmental measurement cycle (the time from environmental measurement to the entire cycle of measurement inside the cage) and the environmental measurement duration (30 minutes or more is recommended).

[0072] Click "Experiment Management", then click "Create Experiment". Enter the experiment name, add groups (you can add groups in batches), and add animal information (you can add animals to all channels at once). Click "Save Experiment Information".

[0073] On the main interface, click "Search" to select the saved experiment, and then click "Start Sampling" to conduct the experiment.

[0074] Clicking "Event Marker" allows you to mark events such as adding water and food.

[0075] Clicking the "Display Settings" module allows you to set the legend color, axis value range, and marker format.

[0076] Data Analysis: Enter the "Data Analysis" module, click "Open File", and select the experimental data to open (by default, it is saved in the EMRData folder under the root directory of the installation disk).

[0077] Clicking "Plot" will display the plotted chart and data under the "Basic Parameters" tab of "Raw Data". Clicking the indicator name on the right side of the chart will show or hide the indicator's curve. Using the mouse wheel, you can zoom in or out of the display area; left-click to select and zoom in on the area of ​​interest; right-click to move and change the display area.

[0078] Click "Plot Change Curve" to display the changing trends of each indicator under the "Change Curve" tab.

[0079] Click the "Gas Analysis" tab to analyze oxygen concentration, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide concentration, carbon dioxide production, RER, and EE.

[0080] Click the "Comparative Analysis" tab to compare and analyze the changes of a certain indicator in each channel.

[0081] Speed ​​setting

[0082] The software allows setting multiple operating parameters (>100). Low speed, high speed, acceleration, deceleration, and stage duration can be set according to needs. Click the save button after setting.

[0083] To edit a parameter for a specific stage, select that parameter, make the changes, and then click the update button.

[0084] This invention provides an animal energy metabolism treadmill device, which aims to address the shortcomings of existing technologies in measuring respiratory metabolic rate during animal exercise.

[0085] This utility model includes a treadmill body, a respiratory metabolism monitoring system, a data acquisition controller, and host computer software. The treadmill body is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy, which is lightweight and high-strength. It features a 2mm thick running belt with a special surface treatment to prevent foot injury. The servo motor has a signal feedback system for real-time data acquisition without speed loss. The integrated design eliminates external wiring, resulting in a sleek and aesthetically pleasing appearance, high integration, and space-saving experimental space. The respiratory metabolism monitoring system mainly consists of gas monitoring, motion monitoring, respiration monitoring, and weight monitoring. Gas monitoring parameters include oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange rate, and calories burned. Motion monitoring parameters include exercise speed, distance traveled, total time, number of times to exhaustion, number of falls, and electrical stimulation time. Respiration monitoring parameters include respiratory rate and tidal volume. Weight monitoring parameters include food intake monitoring, water intake monitoring, and weight monitoring. The data acquisition controller is mainly used for data acquisition and system operation control. The treadmill allows for manual adjustment of current and angle, circulation fan, reset, ventilation, and sampling flow rate adjustment and display. It is equipped with an air source interface, power port, calibration interface, and USB interface. The host computer software can monitor comprehensive animal data in real time, including: VO2, O2in, O2OUT, DO2, ACCO2, VCO2, CO2in, CO2OUT, DCO2, ACCCO2, RER, HEAT, activity, feeding and drinking data, weight data, respiratory rate data, body temperature data, movement speed, distance traveled, total time, number of times exhausted, and fall. The device records the number of falls and the duration of electrical stimulation. Besides standard experimental result recording functions, it can effectively analyze and graph raw data, and export raw data in formats including Excel, TXT, and JPG for further statistical analysis. The animal energy metabolism treadmill device is easy to connect: simply connect the gas pipeline on the animal treadmill to a filter, connect the pipeline on the electrically stimulated side of the treadmill to the controller's ventilation interface, connect the vacuum pump to the air pump interface on the side of the device using a 6mm PU tube, and finally connect to a computer using a Category 6 Ethernet cable with one end connected to a USB-CAN module and the other end connected to a USB connector. By monitoring the gas inside the treadmill under different exercise states, the device can analyze in real time indicators such as the animal's oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange rate, metabolic rate, and calories burned. The measurement principle of gases and related parameters is indirect calorimetry. The theoretical basis of indirect calorimetry is the two laws of conservation of energy and conservation of matter. If the initial substrate and final metabolic products of energy metabolism are the same, then the heat produced by metabolism is the same. The substrate consumed by the reaction (such as 1 mol of glucose), the required oxygen (6 mol), and the final oxidation products (6 mol of CO2 and 6 mol of H2O) are the same, and there is a definite ratio between the substrate and the products.Indirect calorimetry does not require direct detection of the heat released by the body. Instead, it calculates the total heat produced by the metabolic process by measuring the amount of O2 consumed in the heat-releasing reaction, the yield of the final product CO2, and combining the proportion of energy sources consumed, using the Weir formula.

[0086] This invention can monitor an animal's oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and respiratory exchange rate in real time during running, improving the immediacy and accuracy of the data; it can control different tilt angles of the treadmill according to a set time program to simulate different exercise intensities, achieving continuity of online measurement and expanding experimental application scenarios.

[0087] The entire system is centrally controlled and measured via software. It can adjust the treadmill's tilt angle according to the experimental design to simulate different exercise environments. A user-friendly interface allows users to easily set exercise parameters, monitor experimental progress, and obtain real-time data analysis results. An integrated data processing module ensures the reliability and scientific rigor of the experimental data. A gas mixing fan within the treadmill mixes the gases, ensuring accurate gas sampling. An electrical stimulation grid and sound stimulator at the end of the treadmill enhance the forced exercise effect through electrical and sound stimulation. Filters are connected to both the gas entering and exiting the treadmill to ensure gas cleanliness. The system continuously provides fresh air to the treadmill, preventing excessive carbon dioxide levels and meeting normal breathing needs. The entire treadmill section employs a sealed design to guarantee the authenticity of gas monitoring data. Figure 1 It is a dual-channel treadmill, capable of conducting experiments on two animals simultaneously. Depending on the needs, one treadmill or treadmills with more channels can be configured.

[0088] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0089] The specific embodiments of this utility model have been described above. It should be understood that this utility model is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the substantive content of this utility model. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A sealed animal treadmill, characterized in that, include: A fully sealed treadmill housing with silicone sealing rings and clamping buckles on its edges, which achieve internal sealing by compression of the two, and is used to monitor carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption. Transparent observation windows are provided on the top and sides for real-time external observation of the animal's movement within the treadmill; The ventilation port is used to extract the gas exhaled by the animal as sampling gas and send it to the sensor analysis module. The gas that is not extracted is discharged through a vacuum pump.

2. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The drive mechanism includes a servo motor that drives a belt to rotate via a transmission shaft. An coded sensor is mounted on the transmission shaft to monitor the position and speed of the motor in real time and feed the data back to the control system.

3. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control system adjusts the speed and position of the servo motor by comparing the difference between the target value and the actual value, based on external system commands and feedback information from coded sensors.

4. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: An electrical stimulation pusher, which is installed inside a treadmill, is used to stimulate continuous movement in animals.

5. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, The treadmill is equipped with a running platform angle adjustment rod at the bottom, which is connected to the controller. The running platform tilt angle can be automatically adjusted by the controller button.

6. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, The silicone sealing ring is a detachable and replaceable structure.

7. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air exchange interface and air intake interface use RJ45 plugs.

8. The sealed animal treadmill according to claim 1, characterized in that, The treadmill is equipped with an electrical stimulation grid and a sound stimulator.

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