A non-invasive high-throughput sleep stage analysis system

描述（由申请人提供）：睡眠质量随着年龄的增长而退化是一个有据可查的现象。虽然人们对这种衰退的特征了解很多，但对其生理或遗传基础的了解却非常少。啮齿类动物（小鼠+大鼠）与年龄相关的睡眠变化与人类非常相似，因此这些动物模型经常用于研究衰老过程。然而，目前测量啮齿动物睡眠所需的最先进技术需要手术植入脑电图和肌电（EMG）探针。这种方法的缺点包括需要进行侵入性和耗时的动物手术，并且需要较长的恢复期。时间部分非常缓慢，因为动物必须从手术中恢复并适应记录室和绳索，才能评估正常睡眠。此外，植入螺钉的生物污垢和慢性植入物的衰变会随着时间的推移改变信号质量，并限制长期记录仅连续几个月。人工费用包括聘请专业技术人员来操作设备、进行手术和评估睡眠数据。为了克服这些困难，我们计划使用加速视频硬件、3d视频监控和深红色网格（啮齿动物看不见）来测量睡眠状态。在这个应用程序的第一阶段，Pinnacle科技公司和宾夕法尼亚大学睡眠和呼吸神经生物学中心将创建一个工作原型（软件、电子和硬件），用于对啮齿动物的睡眠状态进行无创检测。具体来说，该系统旨在成为第一个商业设备，旨在使用非手术、非侵入性技术记录和自动分析啮齿动物的清醒、非快速眼动和快速眼动睡眠。这种设计的一个独特的好处是，它将能够在整个生命周期中持续记录同一动物的睡眠-觉醒结构。该系统一旦得到验证，就可以很容易地用作大规模筛选工具，快速筛选数百只动物。大型制药公司已经在寻求这种设备的商业应用，因为它们正在探索用于靶向治疗的新的潜在基因产品。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Degeneration of sleep quality with age is a well-documented phenomenon. While much is known regarding the characterization of this decline, remarkably little of the physiology or genetic underpinnings are understood. Age-related sleep changes in rodents (mice + rats) are remarkably similar to those seen in human populations and as such these animal models are frequently used to study the aging process. However, the current state-of-the-art technology necessary for measuring sleep in rodents requires surgical implantation of EEG and electromyograph (EMG) probes. Drawbacks to this process include the need for an invasive and time-consuming animal surgery paired with a prolonged recovery period. The time component is extremely slow as the animal must recover from surgery and acclimate to the recording chamber and tether before normal sleep can be evaluated. Additionally, biofouling of the implanted screws and decay of the chronic implant alters signal quality over time and restricts long-term recordings to only a few continuous months. Labor expenses include the need to hire an expert technician to run the equipment, undertake surgery and evaluate sleep data. To overcome these difficulties we plan to use accelerated video hardware, 3-D video monitoring and a deep red grid (invisible to the rodent) to measure sleep state. In Phase I of this application, Pinnacle Technology Inc and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology will create a working prototype (software, electronics, and hardware) for non-invasive detection of sleep state in rodents. Specifically, this system aims to be the first commercial device designed to record and automatically analyze wake, NREM and REM sleep in rodents using non-surgical, non-invasive techniques. A unique benefit to this design is that it will be capable of continuously recording sleep-wake architecture from the same animal across the lifespan. The system, once validated, can easily be used as a large-scale screening tool to rapidly screen hundreds of animals. Commercial applications of such a device are already being sought by major pharmaceutical companies as they explore new potential gene products for targeted therapy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: It is estimated that at least 40 million Americans suffer each year from chronic, long-term sleep disorders while an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. As people age, sleeping disorder are more prevalent; more than 50 percent of people older than 64 have a sleep disorder. Economically, poor sleep accounts for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year and the indirect costs of lost productivity and other factors are known to be much higher.