Kinetic Weight Bearing

Presentation

Rat inside the corridor

BIOSEB Kinetic Weight Bearing (KWB), like the BIOSEB Dynamic Weight Bearing (DWB) instrument represents a giant leap forward in incapacitance testing where weight bearing on each paw is continuously and independently measured and analyzed automatically. The KWB instrument provides information on applied weight as well as the speed and acceleration of each paw during a voluntary walking sequence.. These data provide information about coordination and gait through paw to paw and step to step comparisons.

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). BIOSEB has extended existing gait analysis by including the measurement of the force applied by each individual paw to the floor the animal is walking upon.

Operating principle

The subject initiates a voluntary walking sequence from a starting chamber, across a corridor, to its home cage. The supplied KWB software synchronizes the aerial video capture with the pressure applied by each paw in real time using an array of 4,000 (mosue) or 6,000 (rat) sensors during the walking sequence. Automated parameter analysis for each paw such as Maximum Force (mN), Mass Velocity (N/s), and Maximum surface area (cm2)are reported along with gait dynamics such speed, cadence, overlaps, and step patterns are all compared across paws and steps and statistically processed.

BIOSEB has demonstrated that the rising time to the maximum force of each animal step differs across 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.

Bioseb's Kinetic Weight Bearing: Screenshot of Bioseb's new KWB software

Supplied with

• Elevated stand
• Mouse and Rat home cages
• Sensors mat x 2 + interfaces
• HD USB camera
• KWB Software license: allows you to install the full software on 1 computer, and the software in 'replay' mode on as many computers as needed!