Apparatus for inducing vestibular illusions in a rodent experimental animal

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of vestibular illusion inducing devices of rodent experimental animals, including rotating table, shell and swing mechanism, shell is sleeved on rotating table and is left with through-hole, swing mechanism is connected with rotating table by passing through through-hole;The rotating table includes the rotating motor being arranged on bottom plate, and rotating motor is connected with rotating base by connecting shaft;The swing mechanism includes rotating base, motor fixing frame, swing motor, baffle, swing support and mouse fixing device.The utility model can simply realize three action modes, the vestibular illusion of rodent experimental animals is induced by multiple operations, simple and light structure is convenient for maintenance, and more comply with human-computer operation habit;And enhance the corrosion resistance of device, can better fix rodent experimental animals, different size rodent experimental animals can also be adapted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of biological experimental equipment technology, and relates to a vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals. Background Technology

[0002] Vestibular illusions are illusions caused by the acceleration during flight acting on the pilot's vestibular organs and proprioceptors, which do not correspond to the actual spatial position of the human body. They mainly include body gravity illusions, body rotation illusions, cross-coupled rotation illusions, and eye rotation illusions. These illusions are an important cause of flight incidents.

[0003] Vestibular illusions occur very frequently during flight and can seriously impair a pilot's cognitive abilities, even jeopardizing flight safety. Therefore, research on vestibular illusions is of great significance. The induction of vestibular illusions is an essential step in the research process, and using different conditions to induce different forms of vestibular illusions allows for a more systematic and realistic study of vestibular illusions.

[0004] Chinese utility model patent CN219919996U discloses a vestibular illusion induction device for laboratory animals, comprising a base, a support, an experimental table, and a control box. The support is horizontally rotatable and mounted on top of the base, and the experimental table is fixedly mounted on top of the support. The control box is electrically connected to both the base and the experimental table. The experimental table includes a rolling mechanism for horizontally rolling the animal's body and a headrest mechanism for vertically rotating the animal's head. The rolling mechanism and the headrest mechanism are fixedly connected. Although this device induces vestibular illusions in laboratory animals through rotation or rotation, simultaneously achieving rotation and rotation is difficult, making it hard to simulate the complexities of flight. Furthermore, the fixation of the laboratory animal is not secure and is not easily adjustable.

[0005] Chinese invention patent CN112913713A discloses a vestibular illusion induction device for rodent laboratory animals. It uses a reciprocating mechanism to rotate a body fixation seat along the coronal plane of the rodent. Combined with a rotating disc, it couples the horizontal rotation of the guinea pig's head with the rotation of its body along the coronal plane, thus inducing vestibular illusion in the rodent. Although the device uses restraint straps to fix the laboratory animal, the rotation and flipping experimental mechanism is relatively complex, and it is difficult to achieve rotation and flipping simultaneously. Furthermore, it lacks protection for the experimental device. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem solved by this utility model is to provide a vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals, which can simultaneously achieve rotation and flipping to induce vestibular illusion in experimental animals, and is simple to operate and enhances the corrosion resistance of the device.

[0007] This utility model is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0008] A vestibular illusion induction device for rodent laboratory animals includes a rotating platform, a housing, and a swing mechanism. The housing is fitted onto the rotating platform and has a through hole, and the swing mechanism passes through the through hole and is connected to the rotating platform.

[0009] The rotary table includes a rotary motor mounted on a base plate, and the rotary motor is connected to the rotary chassis via a connecting shaft;

[0010] The swing mechanism includes a rotating chassis, a motor mounting bracket, a swing motor, a baffle, a swing support, and a rodent-fixing device. The swing motor is connected to the rotating chassis via the motor mounting bracket, and the output shaft of the swing motor is connected to the swing support. The swing support is fixedly connected to the baffle, and the baffle is equipped with a rodent-fixing device. The swing motor can drive the rodent-fixing device and the baffle to swing through the swing support.

[0011] The base plate is also equipped with a power module and a control board that are electrically connected to the rotary motor and the swing motor, respectively. The power module supplies power to the rotary motor and the swing motor, and the control board controls the rotation speed of the rotary motor and the rotation angle and speed of the swing motor.

[0012] The rotary motor is fixed to the base plate by a base bracket, and the control board is connected to the rotary motor and the swing motor respectively via an RS485 bus.

[0013] The housing is also equipped with a power interface connected to the power module and a control switch connected to the control board.

[0014] The rat-fixing device includes a rat-fixing plate with a hole in the middle, a rotating shaft on the side of the rat-fixing plate, a fixed side of a rat-fixing ring sleeved on the rotating shaft, and a movable side of the rat-fixing ring magnetically connected to the rat-fixing plate; or, the movable side of the rat-fixing ring is connected to the rat-fixing plate by a snap fastener.

[0015] The rat-fixing ring includes a trunk rat-fixing ring, a neck rat-fixing ring, and a head rat-fixing ring, with the annular openings in the middle decreasing in size sequentially.

[0016] The rat-fixing device is fixed to one side of the baffle, and a counterweight plate is provided on the other side of the baffle.

[0017] The rat-fixing device is located on the front of the baffle, and the baffle is located on the back of the baffle.

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

[0019] The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals provided by this utility model uses a rotary motor to drive the rotating base, motor mounting bracket, swing support, and mouse-holding device to rotate, thereby enabling the rodent experimental animal to rotate along the vertical axis. The swing motor swings within a certain angle range and at a certain speed, causing the swing support and mouse-holding device to swing left and right, thereby enabling the rodent experimental animal to tumble back and forth along the body axis. When the rotary motor and the swing motor work simultaneously, the rodent experimental animal can rotate along the vertical axis while simultaneously tumbling back and forth along the body axis. This utility model can easily achieve three action modes, and through repeated operation, it can induce vestibular illusions in rodent experimental animals. It has a simple and lightweight structure, is easy to maintain, and is more in line with human-machine operation habits.

[0020] The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals provided by this utility model has a shell and baffle made of non-metallic materials, while the main structure is made of metallic materials, which enhances the corrosion resistance of the device. Moreover, the design of the fixation ring and the slot not only facilitates the fixation of rodent experimental animals, but the design of the trunk fixation ring, neck fixation ring and head fixation ring can better fix rodent experimental animals and can also be adapted to rodent experimental animals of different sizes. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating table structure of this utility model;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the shell structure of this utility model;

[0024] Figure 4 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the swing mechanism structure of this utility model;

[0025] Figure 5 This is the second schematic diagram of the swing mechanism structure of this utility model;

[0026] Figure 6 A connection diagram showing that the main controller of the control board is an STM32;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the motor and the control board via an RS485 interface.

[0028] Among them, 1 is the shell, 2 is the rotating chassis, 3 is the motor mounting bracket, 4 is the counterweight plate, 5 is the baffle, 6 is the slot, 7 is the rat securing device, 8 is the swing bracket, 9 is the swing motor, 10 is the base plate, 11 is the rotating motor, 12 is the control board, 13 is the power module, 14 is the through hole, 15 is the rotating shaft, 16 is the torso rat securing ring, 17 is the neck rat securing ring, and 18 is the head rat securing ring. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These descriptions are intended to explain the present invention and not to limit it.

[0030] See Figures 1-5 A vestibular illusion induction device for rodent laboratory animals includes a rotating platform, a housing 1 and a swing mechanism. The housing 1 is fitted onto the rotating platform and has a through hole 14. The swing mechanism passes through the through hole and is connected to the rotating platform.

[0031] The rotary table includes a rotary motor 11 mounted on a base plate 10, and the rotary motor 11 is connected to the rotary chassis 2 via a connecting shaft;

[0032] The swing mechanism includes a rotating base 2, a motor mounting bracket 3, a swing motor 9, a baffle 5, a swing support 8, and a rodent-fixing device 7. The swing motor 9 is connected to the rotating base 2 through the motor mounting bracket 3, and the output shaft of the swing motor 9 is connected to the swing support 8. The swing support 8 is fixedly connected to the baffle 2, and the baffle 2 is provided with the rodent-fixing device 7. The swing motor 9 can drive the rodent-fixing device 7 to swing with the baffle 2 through the swing support 8.

[0033] Furthermore, the base plate 10 is also provided with a power module 13 and a control board 12 that are electrically connected to the rotary motor 11 and the swing motor 9, respectively. The power module 13 supplies power to the rotary motor, the control board 12 controls the rotation speed of the rotary motor 11, and the control board controls the rotation angle and rotation speed of the swing motor 9.

[0034] When the rotary motor 11 rotates, it drives the rotating chassis 2, the motor mounting bracket 3, the swing bracket 8 and the rodent fixing device 7 to rotate.

[0035] When the swing motor 9 swings within a certain angle range, it drives the swing bracket 8 and the rodent-fixing device 7 to swing left and right.

[0036] When the rotary motor 11 rotates, the oscillating motor 9 oscillates, thus simulating rotation and oscillation simultaneously.

[0037] This induction device can provide three modes of motion to induce vestibular illusions in rodent laboratory animals.

[0038] Specifically, the rotary motor 11 is fixed on the base plate 10 by a base bracket, and the control board 12 is connected to the rotary motor 11 and the swing motor 9 via an RS485 bus.

[0039] Furthermore, the housing 1 is also provided with a power interface connected to the power module 13, and a switch connected to the control board 12.

[0040] Furthermore, the rat-fixing device 7 includes a rat-fixing plate with a hole 6 in the middle, a rotating shaft 15 on the side of the rat-fixing plate, a fixed side of the rat-fixing ring sleeved on the rotating shaft 15, and a movable side of the rat-fixing ring magnetically connected to the rat-fixing plate; or, the movable side of the rat-fixing ring is connected to the rat-fixing plate by a snap fastener.

[0041] If magnetic connection is used, a magnet is embedded in the movable side of the rat-fixing ring, and the rat-fixing plate is made of stainless steel.

[0042] If a snap-fit ​​connection is used, snap-fit ​​fasteners can be set on the movable side of the rodent securing ring and the rodent securing plate to secure rodent experimental animals.

[0043] Furthermore, in order to better secure rodent experimental animals, the securing rings are set up in multiple channels, and are respectively divided into trunk securing ring 16, neck securing ring 17 and head securing ring 18, with the gaps in the middle decreasing in size. This can better secure rodent experimental animals and can also accommodate rodent experimental animals of different sizes.

[0044] Furthermore, the rat-fixing device is fixed to one side of the baffle, and a counterweight plate is provided on the other side of the baffle.

[0045] Specifically, the rat-fixing device is located on the front of the baffle, and the baffle is located on the back of the baffle.

[0046] The addition of counterweight plates, and their placement on both sides and the front and back, prevents the device from tipping over during swinging.

[0047] Specific implementation examples are given below.

[0048] See Figures 1-5 A vestibular illusion induction device for rodent laboratory animals includes a rotating platform, a housing, and a swinging mechanism; each part can be easily disassembled for inspection and maintenance.

[0049] 1. Rotary table

[0050] The rotary table includes a base plate, a rotary motor, a control board, and a power module. The base plate is made of steel to increase the overall weight of the equipment and reduce the risk of tipping over during rotation. The control board and power module are fixed to the base plate, and the rotary motor is fixed to the base plate via a base bracket. The control board controls the motor to achieve the required speed; the rotary motor has a rated speed of 160 rpm, a rated voltage of 24V, and uses RS485 communication.

[0051] 2. Shell

[0052] The housing is made of spliced ​​acrylic sheets. The use of acrylic sheets can increase the overall corrosion resistance. It has through holes for connecting shafts to pass through, as well as control switches and power interfaces.

[0053] 3. Swinging mechanism

[0054] The swing mechanism mainly consists of a rotating base, a motor mounting frame, a swing motor, a counterweight, a baffle, a swing support, and a rodent-fixing device. The rotating motor drives the baffle and rodent-fixing device to swing via the swing support.

[0055] The baffle has perforations for easy placement of laboratory animals and can be adjusted according to the position of the mouse's head; the baffle is made of non-metallic material to enhance its corrosion resistance.

[0056] The swing motor has a rated speed of 255 rpm, a rated voltage of 24V, an RS485 communication method, and is compatible with a reducer with a reduction ratio of 1:10.

[0057] 4. Control panel

[0058] The control board main controller can be an STM32 main controller (e.g., Figure 6 As shown in the diagram, since the control board needs to send commands to the swing motor and rotary motor via RS485, its RS485 interface uses a design similar to... Figure 7 The circuits shown are connected to the motors respectively, with RS485A connected to the swing motor and RS485B connected to the rotary motor.

[0059] The control board sends commands to the swing motor and rotary motor via RS485. The swing motor and rotary motor recognize the commands through decoding functions. Only when a command is completely and correctly recognized can the MCU (STM32 main controller) reply with data. The MCU judges and controls the motor actions based on the reply data, thus realizing the control process.

[0060] The induction operation of the induction device is described below:

[0061] After placing the experimental animal into the slot and fixing it in place by rotating the rat-fixing ring;

[0062] Inducing vestibular illusions in rodent experimental animals using a three-mode action:

[0063] The rotary motor 11 is controlled to rotate, and its rotation speed is changed. The rotation speed includes: 360° / s; 240° / s; 180° / s; to achieve the rotation of rodent experimental animals along the vertical axis.

[0064] Control the swing motor 9 to swing within a certain angle range, with a tumbling angle of +30° to -30° and a tumbling speed of 2 seconds per cycle; to enable rodent experimental animals to tumble back and forth along their body axis.

[0065] When the rotary motor 11 and the swing motor 9 work simultaneously, the rodent experimental animal can rotate along the vertical axis while rolling back and forth along the body axis.

[0066] Three different action patterns were repeatedly performed to induce vestibular illusions in rodent experimental animals.

[0067] The specific operating instructions are given below.

[0068] 1) First, coordinate the position of the rotary table and the swing mechanism to readjust the zero position of the rotary motor. After adjusting the zero position, start adjusting the parameters until the rotary motor does not vibrate when it rotates at a speed of 60° / s.

[0069] 2) After the motor is zeroed, fix the swing motor at -30° (with the horizontal of the table as the reference point). Through the motor test program, record the return values ​​when the swing motor rotates to 30°, 60° and 0° (the motor will send a return value to the control board every 1° of rotation).

[0070] 3) When rotating along the vertical axis, the control board selects the motor via the RS485 serial port and then sends rotation commands to the rotating motor. At the same time, it reads the motor return value every 20ms via the serial port and decodes the return value.

[0071] 4) When the body is axially reciprocating, first send a command to the swing motor to rotate to 30° to ensure that the platform is level; then send the working command, and the swing motor starts to rotate in the 60° / 0° direction (30° / -30° with the platform as a reference). When the MCU reads that the motor has reached 60° / 0°, immediately send a command to the motor to rotate to 0° / 60°, and the motor reverses; when it rotates to 0° / 60°, the serial port decoding is correct, and send the command to rotate to 60° / 0° again, and the motor reverses again; this cycle repeats to achieve axially reciprocating rolling of the body.

[0072] 5) When the motor stop command is issued, the swing motor will rotate to 30° (the table is horizontal) and then stop.

[0073] The embodiments given above are preferred examples of implementing this utility model, and this utility model is not limited to the above embodiments. Any non-essential additions or substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the technical features of the technical solution of this utility model shall fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A vestibular illusion induction device for rodent laboratory animals, characterized in that, It includes a rotating platform, a housing, and a swing mechanism. The housing is fitted onto the rotating platform and has a through hole. The swing mechanism passes through the through hole and is connected to the rotating platform. The rotary table includes a rotary motor mounted on a base plate, and the rotary motor is connected to the rotary chassis via a connecting shaft; The swing mechanism includes a rotating chassis, a motor mounting bracket, a swing motor, a baffle, a swing support, and a rodent-fixing device. The swing motor is connected to the rotating chassis via the motor mounting bracket, and the output shaft of the swing motor is connected to the swing support. The swing support is fixedly connected to the baffle, and the baffle is equipped with a rodent-fixing device. The swing motor can drive the rodent-fixing device and the baffle to swing through the swing support.

2. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base plate is also equipped with a power module and a control board that are electrically connected to the rotary motor and the swing motor, respectively. The power module supplies power to the rotary motor and the swing motor, and the control board controls the rotation speed of the rotary motor and the rotation angle and speed of the swing motor.

3. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The rotary motor is fixed to the base plate by a base bracket, and the control board is connected to the rotary motor and the swing motor respectively via an RS485 bus.

4. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The housing also has a power interface for connecting to the power module, and a control switch for connecting to the control board.

5. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rat-fixing device includes a rat-fixing plate with a hole in the middle, a rotating shaft on the side of the rat-fixing plate, a fixed side of a rat-fixing ring sleeved on the rotating shaft, and a movable side of the rat-fixing ring magnetically connected to the rat-fixing plate; or, the movable side of the rat-fixing ring is connected to the rat-fixing plate by a snap fastener.

6. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The rat-fixing ring includes a trunk rat-fixing ring, a neck rat-fixing ring, and a head rat-fixing ring, with the annular openings in the middle decreasing in size sequentially.

7. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The rat-fixing device is fixed to one side of the baffle, and a counterweight plate is provided on the other side of the baffle.

8. The vestibular illusion induction device for rodent experimental animals as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The rat-fixing device is located on the front of the baffle, and the baffle is located on the back of the baffle.

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