Limbetrics: A toolkit for capturing better preclinical musculoskeletal metrics to enable efficient translation of clinically relevant therapeutics

Dr Tom Carlson (primary)
Aspire Create / Division of Surgery
University College London
Dr Scott Roberts (secondary)
Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Royal Veterinary College

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders are extremely debilitating and are a key focus for pharmaceutical development. However, there is often poor translation from preclinical trials to successful clinical deployment. Two key contributors are 1) the inability to make clinically relevant measurements in the preclinical phase; 2) the inability to make such measurements continuously whilst respecting the animal’s natural behaviour. This project will develop a low-cost modular system for monitoring limb function that is integrated into the preclinical setting, whilst automatically calculating clinically relevant metrics for the duration of the trial. This will help achieve the 3Rs and improve options for patients.


References

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BBSRC Area
Animal disease, health and welfare
Area of Biology
Physiology
Techniques & Approaches
EngineeringImage ProcessingSimulation / Modelling