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A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents
Published on: November 21, 2019
RMScratcher: An edge-AI platform for high-throughput analysis of rodent scratching behavior
Moran Zhang1, Xin Zeng2, Min Chen1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
Background:
Quantitative analysis of rodent scratching is essential for studying somatosensory and neuroimmune mechanisms, yet scalable and high-throughput analysis remains challenging.
New Method:
We developed RMScratcher, a compact platform combining multi-channel acquisition with Jetson TX2-based edge computing and an enhanced YOLOv8s framework. Incorporating GhostConv and Context Aggregation modules, the system achieves efficient and accurate detection of bouts, touch, duration and scratching region.
Results:
RMScratcher achieved > 95% accuracy in distinguishing scratching from other behaviors, reliably quantified bout, touch and duration, and scratching region. Performance was robust across multiple rodent models and experimental conditions.
Comparison With Existing Methods:
Manual scoring is slow and prone to bias, while existing automated tools often lack throughput and generalizability. Crucially, there is no known literature that identifies the scratching region. RMScratcher provides these capabilities with minimal hardware requirements.
Conclusions:
RMScratcher extends the methodological toolkit for behavioral neuroscience by integrating video recording with intelligent computation. The platform facilitates reproducible studies of somatosensory function, neuroimmune interactions, behavioral phenotyping, and the neural mechanisms underlying abnormal sensory behaviors.
