An Automated Mouse Tail Vascular Access System by Vision and Pressure Feedback

Abstract

This paper develops an automated vascular access system (A-VAS) with novel vision-based vein and needle detection methods and real-time pressure feedback for murine drug delivery. Mouse tail vein injection is a routine but critical step for preclinical imaging applications. Due to the small vein diameter and external disturbances such as tail hair, pigmentation, and scales, identifying vein location is difficult and manual injections usually result in poor repeatability. To improve the injection accuracy, consistency, safety, and processing time, A-VAS was developed to overcome difficulties in vein detection noise rejection, robustness in needle tracking, and visual servoing integration with the mechatronics system.

Is Subcutaneous Route an Alternative to Intravenous Route for Mouse Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 1.5 T?

“…(i) Repeatability. In mice, IV tail puncture is poorly reproducible over time due to tail necrosis around the puncture sites [11]. This fact limits longitudinal follow-up studies with imaging and even more, multimodal protocols which require deliveries of both tracers and contrast agents for the acquisition of both functional and morphological data.…”

“…A dedicated appropriate workspace is needed to achieve successful punctures in proper conditions [12]. Some research papers tested several small injection ports [27] and presented the developments of automated puncture systems based on vision and/or pressure feedback [11,28], which could be an interesting alternative to manual puncture.…”

“…One drawback that could critically limit imaging in mice, unlike in humans, is the repeated tail intravenous (IV) puncture, especially when longitudinal procedures are involved. In fact, multiple IV injections result in an increasing risk of tail necrosis around the puncture site [11]. So, it is recommended to carry out the minimum number of needle punctures consistent with good scientific practice.…”

Design and Evaluation of a Robotic Device for Automated Tail Vein Cannulations in Rodent Models

“…Accessing the venous bloodstream of rodent models for drug delivery or blood sampling is often required for studying biological genotypes [1], performing molecular imaging [2], or injecting cells [3] or therapeutics [4]. In each case, repeatable, accurate needle insertion plays a key role in driving reliable results [5].…”

“…Traditionally, the needle insertion is performed manually by hand, where success rates depend on technical skill [2]. The most common vein used for needle insertion in rodents is the lateral tail vein, which for a typical lab mouse and rat is approximately 0.3 and 0.5 mm in diameter, respectively [7,8].…”