Rodent monitoring and vital signs analysis using camera-based technologies: exploring alternative methods for assessing severity

• Applicants: Dr.-Ing. Carina Barbosa Pereira; Professor Dr. Michael Czaplik
• Subject Area: Anaesthesiology ; Sensory and Behavioural Biology ; Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology ; Veterinary Medical Science
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 321137804

Biomedical research seeks to understand diseases and develop treatments, but although animal experiments have contributed significantly to medical progress, animal pain, distress, and death raise serious ethical concerns. The 3Rs principle (Replace, Reduce, Refine) guides research to uphold high animal welfare standards. In this context, we propose to advance the monitoring of animals by using non-invasive monitoring to increase the refinement of animal experiments in general. Our project aims to process multimodal video recordings and telemetry data using deep-learning-based approaches. By integrating novel methods, we seek to improve camera-based monitoring systems' accuracy, reliability, and coverage for animal health and welfare monitoring. Key objectives include estimating body weight non-invasively, extracting respiratory waveforms to detect breathing pattern changes, measuring the heart rate and heart rate variability, and evaluating camera-based technologies for monitoring vital signs in general. In collaboration with the other FOR2591 research groups we will explore the integration of camera-derived vital parameters into the already established RELSA scoring system, which measures the severity of animal welfare issues. The goal is to assess whether camera-based data can accurately reproduce the results obtained through traditional telemetry methods. The project's outcomes will have significant implications for both animal welfare and scientific research. The non-invasive monitoring techniques have the potential to minimize harmful animal handling and distress, as well as enabling continuous assessment of physiological and non-physiological parameters and early identification of experimental endpoints. Ultimately, the advancements made in this project will contribute to developing more humane and effective biomedical practices, enhancing both animal welfare and the reliability of research outcomes.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 2591: Severity assessment in animal-based research