Evidence from studies in humans, primates, and rodents shows that pupil size variations correlate with arousal, attention, and cognitive processing. Recent findings suggest that pupil diameter changes mirror neural activity of the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC), which is affected in mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, assessing LC activity could provide an early disease marker. However, studying the LC is challenging due to its small size and deep location.
Left: Hardware platform design.
Right: A close-up of the experimental setup during a pupil recording session.
Monitoring pupil diameter could offer a viable solution, as LC activity changes align with pupil size fluctuations observed in fMRI and ephys studies. Pupillometry emerges as a non-invasive method for real-time LC-noradrenergic system assessment. However, extending pupillometry to rodent studies is limited due to a lack of consensus on technical specifications, hindering standardization and widespread adoption in rodent research.
In this scenario, researchers from the Universidad de Cádiz – INiBICA (Spain) have designed a novel pupillometry system to indirectly assess, in real-time, the function of the LC in rodents. The pupillometry system is based on two components:
Hardware platform:
- Flexible components for diverse applications.
- Cameras with 10 fps sampling frequency and adjustable gain.
- Compatibility with optogenetic stimulators.
Software:
- Recording application: camera control, video recording, personalized tags, and optogenetic stimulation control.
- Analysis application: automatic pupil diameter calculation, embedded tag detection, and output video with segmented pupil region.
The mechanical framework presented is currently protected as a utility model (U202131475). The invention is currently TRL 7 – 8. Tests have been conducted and a prototype has been developed and validated in the laboratory.
The project has been funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Union’s Next Generation funds for the Proof of Concept of new technologies.
Benefits:
- Ensures high accuracy in measuring pupillary changes in lightly anesthetized mice.
- Allows monitoring and adjustments to exposure time and gain for different lighting conditions.
- Versatile and suitable technology for real-time monitoring of pupil size regardless of size or other recording characteristic.
- The framework can be used in various neurophysiological studies with anesthetized animals or awake head-fixed subjects.
The represented institution is looking for a collaboration that leads to commercial exploitation of the presented invention.
Institution: Instituto De Investigación E Innovación Biomédica De Cádiz
TRL: 7-8
Protection status: Utility Model (U202131475)
Contact: Ana Carlota de la Cruz / tech@viromii.com
