Detecting Parkinsonian Postural Sway in Pre-Clinical Animal Models

Abstract

This project involved developing circuitry and code to read signals off of a custom pressure mat. The mat is used to study the postural sway associated with Parkinsonian and non-Parkinsonian preclinical animal models in order to better understand the neurophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Methods of signal aquisition involved using an ardiuno to stream data over the serial port in real time to matlab, where it was then organized and processed. The results of this project included frames of 32x32 displays of voltages sensed from the pressure mat correlating to areas of high and low pressure over time. The data collected with this mat is to be examined in tandum with electrode readings from the brain of the animal models during the pressure mat trials in an effort to understand the association between the pressure mat and electrode readings.