Automated sleep detection and deprivation system for fruit flies

描述(申请人提供)：在过去的七年里，果蝇或普通果蝇在成为探索睡眠遗传和蛋白质组机制的无脊椎动物模式生物方面获得了重要的利基地位。虽然利用现有的工具在果蝇睡眠研究领域取得了很大进展，但在观察、记录和分析果蝇的睡眠(静止)阶段方面，这些工具是有限的。此外，现有的任何系统都不能根据需要单独剥夺苍蝇的睡眠。这项建议勾勒出了一个明确设计的系统，用于测量果蝇的少量运动，因此比任何可用的系统都更准确地估计睡眠。结合这一检测设备，我们还提出了一种机械化系统的设计，该系统能够通过一个完全可编程的计算机化接口来自动剥夺个体苍蝇的睡眠。该系统还将提供一个灵活的行为平台，用于基于光、温度、气味、声音等控制引入模式。该提案的第一阶段成功地展示了一种设备，用于记录和分析单独饲养的苍蝇的运动模式和睡眠，以及强制唤醒。第二阶段将把这个原型设备构建成一个自动化的、可扩展的模块化系统，能够监测和睡眠剥夺商业孵化器中160多只苍蝇的权利。该项目的完成将涉及顶峰科技公司和宾夕法尼亚大学世界知名的果蝇研究团队的合作努力。原型和设计将继续由顶峰技术公司承担，而系统的测试和改进将由宾夕法尼亚大学的团队完成。这两个功能的结合是专门为记录和自动分析飞行中的睡眠而设计的，这将为果蝇研究人员探索睡眠背后的基本遗传学提供一个新的强大工具。该系统的技术创新将包括增强的视频识别软件，用一个摄像机观察多只苍蝇的机制，以及选择性地剥夺单个苍蝇睡眠的技术。通过基于网络的控制系统，可以控制个体睡眠剥夺和数据的实时可视化。完成后，该系统将通过测试已知的睡眠突变进行验证，并由训练有素的人类观察者进行验证。大型制药公司已经在寻求这种设备的商业应用，因为他们正在探索用于靶向治疗的新的潜在基因产品。 与公共健康相关：据估计，每年至少有4000万美国人患有慢性、长期的睡眠障碍，另有2000万人偶尔出现睡眠问题。从经济上讲，睡眠不佳每年造成的医疗成本估计高达160亿美元，而生产力下降和其他因素造成的间接成本众所周知要高得多。虽然睡眠不足与糟糕的健康和生产力之间的联系正变得越来越清楚，但迫切需要了解睡眠的基本原因和生物学需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Within the last seven years, Drosophila melanogaster or common fruit fly has gained an important niche in becoming an invertebrate model organism for exploring genetic and proteomic mechanisms underlying sleep. While a great deal of progress has been made in the field of Drosophila sleep research using available tools, they are limited for the observation, recording and analysis of sleep (immobility) periods in the fruit fly. Additionally, no existing system is capable of individually sleep-depriving flies on an as- needed basis. This proposal outlines a system explicitly designed to measure small amounts of motion in the Drosophila and, as such, more accurately estimate sleep than any available system. In conjunction with this detection device we also propose the design of a mechanized system capable of automatically sleep depriving individual flies through a fully-programmable computerized interface. The system will also provide a flexible behavioral platform for the controlled introduction of modalities based on light, temperature, scent, sound, etc. Phase I of this proposal successfully demonstrated a device to record and analyze motion patterns and sleep as well as enforce wakefulness in individually housed flies. Phase II will build this prototype device into an automated, scalable, modular system capable of monitoring and sleep depriving 160+ flies housed within a commercial incubator. Accomplishment of this project will involve a collaborative effort between Pinnacle Technology and the world-renowned Drosophila research team at The University of Pennsylvania. Prototyping and design will continue to be undertaken by Pinnacle Technology while testing and refinement of the system will be accomplished by the University of Pennsylvania team. The combination of these two features specifically designed to record and automatically analyzes sleep in the fly, will provide a new and powerful tool for Drosophila researchers to explore the basic genetics underlying sleep. Technological innovations of this system will include enhanced video recognition software, mechanisms to observe multiple flies with a single video camera and the technology to selectively deprive individual flies of sleep. Control of individual fly sleep deprivation and real-time visualization of data will be available though a web-based control system. After completion, the system will be validated by testing with known sleep mutations and validated by a trained human observer. 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. 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. While the links between inadequate sleep and poor health and productivity are becoming clearer, there is a dire need to understand the basic causes and biological need for sleep.