1. Mouse Exercise Monitoring System
Erik Lappinen, Brooks Alford,
Elizabeth Smith, Matt Gallegly
Advisors: Dr. Michael McDonald, Dr. Randall Reiserer
Vanderbilt University
Department of Biomedical Engineering

2. Objectives Project Description Background Requirements Hardware
Software
Timeline
Budget

3. Project Description
Large scale monitoring system for mice involved in pharmacological studies
Display and record data from exercise wheel motion
Possible to monitor up to 100 cages simultaneously

4. Project Background
Exercise wheels provide wealth of information about mouse behavior and physiological changes
Mouse testing accounts for 85-90% of all testing done in pharmaceuticals
$400,000,000 development cost per drug in the U.S.

5. Project Requirements Required: Wish List: Monitor speed and distance
Identify individual mice
Real-time
Store data for future analysis
“Mouse Proof”
Wish List:
Monitor directionality of exercise wheel
Addition of visual graphs of velocity and distance

6. Hardware Matched IR LED light source/photosensor pair
Reflective surface placed on small portion of back side of mouse wheel surface

7. Signal from Sensors Response for forward motion
Response for reverse motion
Sensor 2

8. Software Build off of existing LabView VI
Continuously retrieves data from one or more analog input channels using an external scan clock

9. Timeline
March 1 – All software completed with ten working units ready for testing
Thru March - Complete testing
April 1 - Project completed

10. Budget TOTAL: ~ $1900 IR LED's: 100 @ $0.37 IR Detectors: 200 @ $0.28
CPU: $936.00
Digital I/O Cards: $145, $391.50
Connector block/cable kit: $63
Supplies for chassis (wood): ~$250
Wires, cables, etc: ~$100
Texts: $70
TOTAL: ~ $1900