Objective quantification of gait impairment in rats using automated video analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate StepAn as an automated approach for quantitative gait analysis in rodents. We sought to determine whether this video-based approach, which uses standard recordings from devices like smartphones, could sensitively detect motor deficits in a pharmacological model of Parkinsonian bradykinesia. Wistar rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of saline (control), 0.15 mg/kg haloperidol, or 0.30 mg/kg haloperidol. One hour post-injection, gait was analyzed using both the traditional manual "Footprints" test and the StepAn-based automated video analysis, which performs paw detection and stride length calculation from video recordings. Both analysis methods detected a significant reduction in average stride length in haloperidol-treated rats compared to controls (p<0.001), confirming the expected bradykinetic phenotype. No significant difference was found between the two haloperidol doses. Automated analysis provided equivalent mean values but demonstrated superior precision, evidenced by significantly lower measurement variability compared to manual scoring. We evaluated StepAn as a precise and hardware-flexible tool for quantitative gait assessment. Its ability to detect drug-induced Parkinsonian gait deficits comparable to established methods supports its use for objective locomotor analysis in preclinical research.