Home › Analytical Chem › Paw-Print Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Recordings (PrAnCER): A Low-Cost, Open-Access Automated Gait Analysis System for Assessing Motor Deficits
Analytical Chem JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Paw-Print Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Recordings (PrAnCER): A Low-Cost, Open-Access Automated Gait Analysis System for Assessing Motor Deficits

DOI: 10.3791/59596-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Set up and validate an automated gait analysis system for rodents
  • ✓ Perform standardized gait testing and collect paw-print recordings
  • ✓ Analyze motor deficits using open-access automated image processing software
  • ✓ Apply PrAnCER to assess Parkinson's disease models in rats
Protocol

We describe a novel gait analysis system, Paw-Print Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Recordings (PrAnCER), an open-access automated system for the quantification of gait characteristics in rats that utilizes a novel semitransparent floor to automatically quantify gait. This system was validated using the haloperidol model of Parkinson’s Disease.

Difficulty
intermediate
Total time
~45 min per rat (habituation + testing + analysis)
Model organism
Rat (haloperidol-treated Parkinson's disease model)
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Prepare apparatus and habituate animals

Set up the semitransparent floor gait analysis apparatus and allow rats to acclimate to the testing environment to reduce stress-induced gait artifacts.

▶ 00:43
2
Conduct standardized gait testing procedure

Guide rats across the apparatus while recording paw-print contact patterns using contrast-enhanced imaging to capture quantifiable gait metrics.

▶ 02:06
3
Run automated paw-print analysis software

Process recorded gait videos using the open-access PrAnCER algorithm to automatically extract and quantify individual paw-print characteristics and stride parameters.

▶ 03:07
4
Interpret gait analysis results and disease effects

Evaluate automated analysis accuracy and compare gait metrics between treated and control groups to assess haloperidol-induced motor deficits.

▶ 04:52
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