Using this method, footprints are visualized with high spatial and temporal resolution by a non-invasive optical touch sensor coupled to high-speed imaging. A freely available and open-source software package tracks footprints and body features to generate a comprehensive description of many locomotion features, including static parameters such as footprint position and stance patterns and dynamic parameters, such as step and swing cycle duration, and inter-leg coordination.

The MouseWalker comprises a walking arena is made of components readily available, a camera capable of recording high-speed movies (>60fps), and a software written to track the features of the animals and to generate a large kinematic dataset. 

Here we provide all the relevant information to build and use the MouseWalker.

Publications describing the MouseWalker in detail can be found here: 

• Mendes  et al. Quantification of gait parameters in freely walking rodents. BMC Biol 13, 50 (2015); Download PDF 
• Isidro et al. Using the MouseWalker to Quantify Locomotor Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Spinal Cord Injury. J. Vis. Exp. (193), e65207, (2023); Download PDF