Compliant Mouse Restrainer for in vivo Optical Imaging and Surgery

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the project, We propose to develop compliant restraining devices for mice during imaging applications. Mice are used in biomedical research in order to understand the human body, determine the effects of diseases, and develop treatments for diseases in humans. Imaging immune cells and cancer cells in live mice have been well established for biomedical research. Currently used the state-of-the-art optical microscope provides submicron level resolution, the capability of the microscope is not fully exploited due to the motions generated by the animals' heartbeats, breathing, and convulsions, despite the application of anesthesia. The proposed mouse restrainer device will help researchers understanding the underlying physical phenomena more efficiently, which in turn will lead to better understanding of diseases in humans and development of novel diseases. As such, this project is directly related to NIH's mission of seeking fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability . Many researchers spend a lot of effort pursuing costly high frame rate imaging systems to overcome this problem or use expensive precision surgical tools on mice to restrain their motions, though these stereotaxic adaptors are large in size and do not provide heating to maintain the body temperature of anaesthetized animals. However, the ideal solution to generate crisp images is not high frame rate imaging, but instead restraining the motion of a mouse with a simple to use restraining device that can fit in the microscopes being used. Our devices will provide an efficient, cheaper and easy-to-use method to obtain better information from imaging of mice. Apart from imaging applications of mice, we will also developcompliant flexure based devices for other animals and for surgical applications of such animals. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In biomedical/clinical research, in vivo studies of live animals such as mice helps us to understand the human body, determine the effects of diseases, and develop treatments for diseases in humans. Although the state-of-the-art optical microscope used for imaging mice provides submicron level resolution, the capability of the microscope is not fully exploited due to the motions generated by the animals' heartbeats, breathing, and convulsions, despite the application of anesthesia. We believe that our proposed approach of a compliant precision mouse restrainer device will help researchers understanding the underlying physical phenomena more efficiently, which in turn will lead to better understanding of diseases in humans and development of novel diseases.