KNUST Students Build An Actimeter

Locomotor activity in rodents is routinely assessed in the evaluation of drugs and other behavioural studies. Numerous laboratory equipment can be used to measure locomotion of rodents. However, the huge cost of the equipment has posed a great challenge to the Department of Pharmacology of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) which has only one Actimeter to measure locomotor activity of rodents. To overcome this challenge, three Postgraduate students viz. Elikplim Kwesi Ampofo, Mary Ayeko Twumasi and Victor Wumbor-Apin Kumbol all from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, have developed a newer model Actimeter.

The Project Team, from left; Elikplim Kwesi Ampofo, Mary Ayeko Twumasi and Victor Wumbor-Apin Kumbol

In an exclusive interview with the team, the students revealed that most postgraduate students of Pharmacology did not have access to the Actimeter because of the high demand of usage by other colleagues. They, therefore, came up with the idea of designing and developing an Actimeter to add up to the one available.

According to Mr. Kumbol, there is a new movement in Sciences which gives them the opportunity to build their own laboratory equipment. This opportunity enabled them to participate in the 1st TReND Advanced Open Lab Ware Workshop and also provided them with funds to build the Actimeter.

Mr. Kumbol said the Actimeter is an automated open source for rodents. The design of the hardware consists of 3D printed and laser-cut parts as well as ‘off-the-self’ electronic components. Also, the rodent locomotor activity can be recorded using the IR motion detection system in Actimeter. The team through validation process proved that the hardware system is comparable to commercial and open source video tracking systems.

The Actimeter is particularly useful to laboratories in need of a reliable and inexpensive equipment and can be easily built.