Ultra miniature force plate for measuring triaxial forces in the micro newton range

Reinhardt, Lars; Blickhan, Reinhard

doi:10.1242/jeb.094177

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…We used a 3D CAD and simulation software to design the force plate and to calculate its properties by the finite element method. For production of the prototype, we used the stereolithography technology and applied semiconductor strain gages to it (Reinhardt and Blickhan, 2014). Forces as great as 10 μN can be resolved with this sensor and the natural frequencies are above 200 Hz for all directions (see Table 5).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Level locomotion in wood ants: evidence for grounded running

Reinhardt

Blickhan

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In order to better understand the strategies of locomotion in small insects, we have studied continuous level locomotion of the wood ant species Formica polyctena. We determined the three-dimensional centre of mass kinematics during the gait cycle and recorded the ground reaction forces of single legs utilising a self-developed test site. Our findings show that the animals used the same gait dynamics across a wide speed range without dissolving the tripodal stride pattern. To achieve higher velocities, the ants proportionally increased stride length and stepping frequency. The centre of mass energetics indicated a bouncing gait, in which horizontal kinetic and gravitational potential energy fluctuated in close phase. We determined a high degree of compliance especially in the front legs, as the effective leg length was nearly halved during the contact phase. This leads to only small vertical oscillations of the body, which are important in maintaining ground contact. Bouncing gaits without aerial phases seem to be a common strategy in small runners and can be sufficiently described by the bipedal spring-loaded inverted pendulum model. Thus, with our results, we provide evidence that wood ants perform 'grounded running'.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Level locomotion in wood ants: evidence for grounded running

Reinhardt

Blickhan

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The two most prominent preparations investigated with in vitro CMOS MEAs so far are acute retina preparations from mice (Menzler and Zeck, 2011 ; Fiscella et al, 2012 ; Maccione et al, 2014 ), rats (Eickenscheidt et al, 2012 ; Lloyd et al, 2014 ; Stutzki et al, 2014 ), rabbits (Zeck et al, 2011 ; Ballini et al, 2014 ; Fiscella et al, 2014 ), guinea pig (Velychko et al, 2014 ) and humans (Reinhardt and Blickhan, 2014 ); and cultured neuronal cells from snails (Eversmann et al, 2003a ), rats (Hafizovic et al, 2007 ; Heer et al, 2007 ; Gandolfo et al, 2010 ; Lambacher et al, 2010 ; Bakkum et al, 2013 ; Ballini et al, 2014 ) and chicken (Hafizovic et al, 2007 ). Additionally, data from acute slices of the cerebellum (Frey et al, 2009a ; Obien et al, 2014 ), cortex (Ferrea et al, 2012 ; Medrihan et al, 2014 ) and olfactory bulb (Johnson et al, 2013a ) have been shown.…”

Section: Mea Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealing neuronal function through microelectrode array recordings

et al. 2015

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Microelectrode arrays and microprobes have been widely utilized to measure neuronal activity, both in vitro and in vivo. The key advantage is the capability to record and stimulate neurons at multiple sites simultaneously. However, unlike the single-cell or single-channel resolution of intracellular recording, microelectrodes detect signals from all possible sources around every sensor. Here, we review the current understanding of microelectrode signals and the techniques for analyzing them. We introduce the ongoing advancements in microelectrode technology, with focus on achieving higher resolution and quality of recordings by means of monolithic integration with on-chip circuitry. We show how recent advanced microelectrode array measurement methods facilitate the understanding of single neurons as well as network function.

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“…Techniques such as force plates, strain gauges, piezo-resistive sensors, micro-machined sensors, calibrated micropillars, and cantilevers have been employed with animals ranging in size from a few 100s of microns to a few centimeters. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Force measurements have also been carried out at lower length scales of 10s of microns for instance using individual cells. To investigate the role of the mechanical/physical environment, one can change the stiffness and/or viscosity of the surrounding medium or the substratum using biocompatible hydrogels.…”

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confidence: 99%

Colored polydimethylsiloxane micropillar arrays for high throughput measurements of forces applied by genetic model organisms

et al. 2015

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Measuring forces applied by multi-cellular organisms is valuable in investigating biomechanics of their locomotion. Several technologies have been developed to measure such forces, for example, strain gauges, micro-machined sensors, and calibrated cantilevers. We introduce an innovative combination of techniques as a high throughput screening tool to assess forces applied by multiple genetic model organisms. First, we fabricated colored Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micropillars where the color enhances contrast making it easier to detect and track pillar displacement driven by the organism. Second, we developed a semi-automated graphical user interface to analyze the images for pillar displacement, thus reducing the analysis time for each animal to minutes. The addition of color reduced the Young's modulus of PDMS. Therefore, the dye-PDMS composite was characterized using Yeoh's hyperelastic model and the pillars were calibrated using a silicon based force sensor. We used our device to measure forces exerted by wild type and mutant Caenorhabditis elegans moving on an agarose surface. Wild type C. elegans exert an average force of ∼1 μN on an individual pillar and a total average force of ∼7.68 μN. We show that the middle of C. elegans exerts more force than its extremities. We find that C. elegans mutants with defective body wall muscles apply significantly lower force on individual pillars, while mutants defective in sensing externally applied mechanical forces still apply the same average force per pillar compared to wild type animals. Average forces applied per pillar are independent of the length, diameter, or cuticle stiffness of the animal. We also used the device to measure, for the first time, forces applied by Drosophila melanogaster larvae. Peristaltic waves occurred at 0.4 Hz applying an average force of ∼1.58 μN on a single pillar. Our colored microfluidic device along with its displacement tracking software allows us to measure forces applied by multiple model organisms that crawl or slither to travel through their environment.

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Ultra miniature force plate for measuring triaxial forces in the micro newton range

Cited by 22 publications

References 22 publications

Level locomotion in wood ants: evidence for grounded running

Level locomotion in wood ants: evidence for grounded running

Revealing neuronal function through microelectrode array recordings

Colored polydimethylsiloxane micropillar arrays for high throughput measurements of forces applied by genetic model organisms

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