MOUSEWALK - Headfixed Ambulation

Precision mouse head-fixation WITH locomotion in an animal-friendly, low-stress platform for imaging

A new approach to head-fixed locomotion - maximal stability with optimal animal posture

While linear treadmills offer flat surfaces, they constrain movement to a single axis and lack spatial boundaries. Spherical treadmills provide omnidirectional movement but force mice onto curved, unstable surfaces. MouseWalk delivers the best of both: omnidirectional freedom on a flat, naturalistic surface with defined spatial boundaries.

Spanning the gap between head-fixed electrophysiology / imaging / functional ultrasound and freely-moving behaviours, MouseWalk provides a foundation to acquire ethologically relevant data where stable recording / imaging is mission critical. Leveraging our innovative RODIN head-fixation system with adjustable-angle head-fixation to ensure natural animal posture, the MouseWalk platform enables precision head-fixation AND ambulation with minimal intrusion upon the animal's sensory fields and body motion, and with mechanical stability of < 1 micron during behaviour.

Your mice will choose when to walk, run, or remain still inside a 'cage' with surface area equivalent to a standard homecage (63 cm²), complete with naturalistic terrain texture and boundaries, all floating on a whisper-quiet (<45 dB) adjustable air-cushion with air distribution manifolds optimized for stable airflow from our patented integrated air source technology. You can manually adjust air thrust to maintain stable cage levitation. This allows consistent mouse movement effort when adding or removing cage components or when mice vary in size. You can also use this feature to increase locomotion effort too.

Seamless integration with imaging, electrophysiology and operant conditioning

• Compatible with 2-photon imaging, wide-field imaging, focused-ultrasound and electrophysiological approaches
• Integrated motion-tracking and real-time synchronisation with various data-acquisition platforms (Open Ephys, etc.)
• Add-ons for high-precision behavioral event timestamping, including licks, lever presses, and manipulandum interactions.