Building A Better Mousetrap: Scaling animal wellbeing with open-source hardware

What if research labs didn't have to reinvent the wheel all the time?

Rodents like mice and rats play a pivotal role in neuroscientific research. Through a process known as 'head fixation', scientists surgically implant cannulas and electrodes to measure neurophysiological activity. As mice share roughly 95% of our DNA, head fixation experiments greatly contribute to advancing our understanding of the human brain and diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

While head-fixation is common in many labs, proprietary systems are often expensive and inconsistent. This leads many labs to create ad hoc DIY systems at the risk of causing harm to the research animals and impeding the results.

In this episode, we sit down with Zack (Isaac) Weaver, PhD, to explore the ethical and design-specific considerations behind his open-source head gear fixation system. With animal well-being in mind, we explore the multi-stakeholder benefits of open-source hardware in research.

Open-source hardware is a collaborative effort. A special thanks to co-authors Michael R. Tadross and S. Aryana Yousefzadeh and all the labs and members who contributed to the design by trying and testing various iterations.

This episode is researched, produced and edited by Miriam Gradel, Journalist and Media Editor at HardwareX. The music is provided by Kammerin Hunt via Pixabay.

HardwareX is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about open-source hardware. For more info, visit HardwareX.