IMPLANTABLE WIRELESS TELEMETRIC MONITORING DEVICE FOR AGING STUDIES IN MICE

TITLEImplantable Wireless Telemetric Monitoring Device For Aging Studies In MiceABSTRACTThere has been a dramatic growth in aging research particularly using small animals such as mice to find translatable solutions to improve the health span as we ageWhile undisturbed and non tethered acquisition of physiologic data in awake mice using implantable wireless telemetry technologies reflects the most realistic way of studying physiological functiondevices currently available in the marketplace operate at most for a few months and are not thus suitable for longitudinal studies that can last up to themonth lifespan of a mouseFurthermoreexisting devices do not measure gait speeda key component of the assessment of frailtyand respiratory efforta surrogate for tidal volumeOur overall goal is to develop an implantable wireless telemetric monitoring device for aging studies in miceWe hypothesize that longitudinal studies in mice using non disruptive telemetric monitoring implants will reveal resiliencevulnerabilityand decrements in physiologic reserves with aginglong before we can detect them with static measures testsIn a prior NIH funded project we developed telemetric implantsIndus InstrumentsSmall Animal Implantable Telemetrythat can record ECGestimate heart rateand measure temperature and physical activity in miceWe will augment the functionality of these existing devices by adding gait speed measurement and respiration rate effort measurement with the following specific aimsAimDevelop implantable telemetric gait speed measurement and validate against video monitoringAimDevelop implantable respiratory rate andampeffort measurements and validate against surface electrodeimpedance pneumographyAimConductmonth undisturbed telemetric monitoring studies in miceDuring phase II we will refine the devices furthermanufacturetelemetersconduct long term studies inmice to monitor changes in gait speed and respiration rate effort in aging mice subject to the following challengesexercisethermal stresswater deprivationCOexposureand sleep deprivationThe end results of the proposed project will beARodent implantable sensors for monitoring aging specific physiological parameters manufactured by us and available for sale to researchers through our worldwide distribution networkBData analysis algorithms and surgical techniques disseminated to the research community in publicationsonline documentswebinarsand trade show presentationsand CA database of physiological parameters recorded longitudinally in up torodents made available freely in open source data format for download and analysis by other researchers PROJECT NARRATIVEMice are used extensively to study aging process to discover early signs of potential illnesses and to find proper remedies and treatments early on to render a better quality of life in later ages when resilience decreases and frailty increasesIn the proposed research we will develop an implantable wireless telemetry device and system that can longitudinally monitor and measure heart ratebody temperaturephysical activitygait speedrespiratory rate and effort in mice that may reveal latter in life conditionsEarly detection of such conditions and the development of treatment strategies in mice will advance aging research and potentially lead to solutions that are translatable to humans