Abstract
Objective
To assess the correlation between data generated by an accelerometer-based activity
monitor and the distance moved in cats.
Study design
Prospective experimental study.
Animals
Three, four-year-old, male, purpose-bred research cats, weighing between 5.1 and 5.9
kg.
Methods
Part I: Collar and harness mounted accelerometers were evaluated in three cats, comparing
simultaneously collected accelerometer data with movement data from computer-analyzed
video. Part II: Cats wore collar and harness mounted accelerometers, and data were
recorded for 4 weeks to evaluate day-to-day and week-to-week variation in activity.
Results
Part I: 432 hours of simultaneous video and accelerometer data were collected. The
correlation between accelerometer counts and distance moved was 0.82 overall. Agreement
between collar and harness mounted accelerometers was excellent with only 6% of the
differences in measurements lying outside the mean difference ± 2 standard deviations.
The adjusted R2 for harness accelerometer output and 6% mobility was 0.75; for movement 0.84; and
for mean velocity 0.83. Evaluation of video indicated eating, grooming and scratching
created high accelerometer counts with little effect on movement. Part II: There was
a significant effect of day on harness (p < 0.001) and collar (p < 0.002) counts, with counts being lowest at the weekend. There was a significant
effect of week on harness-mounted accelerometer counts (p < 0.034), but not on collar-mounted accelerometer counts. Harness accelerometer counts
were lowest in week 1.
Conclusion
Output from an acceleration-based digitally integrated accelerometer correlated well
with distance moved and mobility in freely moving cats provided the mobility threshold
in the analysis software was ≥6%.
Clinical relevance
Acceleration-based activity monitors may allow for objective measurement of improved
mobility following analgesic treatment for conditions such as osteoarthritis.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Veterinary Anaesthesia and AnalgesiaAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement.Lancet. 1986; 1: 307-310
- Transection of the anterior cruciate ligament in the dog: a model of osteoarthritis.Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1991; 21: 22-32
- Animal models of osteoarthritis.Biorheology. 2002; 39: 221-235
- Physiologic and antinociceptive effects of intrathecal resiniferatoxin in a canine bone cancer model.Anesthesiology. 2005; 103: 1052-1059
- Ambulatory accelerometry to quantify motor behaviour in patients after failed back surgery: a validation study.Pain. 1998; 74: 153-161
- Comparison of Actiwatch activity monitor and Children's Activity Rating Scale in children.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000; 32: 1794-1797
- The relationship between limb function and radiographic osteoarthrosis in dogs with stifle osteoarthrosis.Vet Surg. 2003; 32: 451-454
- Management of osteoarthritis in cats.Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 1997; 27: 945-953
- Evaluation of methods for assessment of pain associated with chronic osteoarthritis in dogs.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2003; 222: 1552-1558
- The reliability, validity, and stability of a measure of physical activity in the elderly.Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1996; 77: 793-795
- Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of meloxicam in cats with painful locomotor disorders.J Small Anim Pract. 2001; 42: 587-593
- Evaluation of a pressure walkway system for measurement of vertical limb forces in clinically normal dogs.Am J Vet Res. 2006; 67: 277-282
- A description of an accelerometer-based mobility monitoring technique.Med Eng Phys. 2005; 27: 497-504
- A novel method for activity monitoring in small non-human primates.Lab Anim. 2005; 39: 169-177
- The canine ‘groove’ model of osteoarthritis is more than simply the expression of surgically applied damage.Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2006; 14: 39-46
- Technical reliability of the CSA activity monitor: the EarlyBird Study.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002; 34: 1533-1537
- Astronomical and meteorological parameters and rest-activity rhythm in the spider monkey Ateles geoffroyi.Physiol Behav. 2004; 83: 107-117
- Validity, reliability, and calibration of the Tritrac accelerometer as a measure of physical activity.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999; 31: 908-912
- EthoVision: a versatile video tracking system for automation of behavioral experiments.Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 2001; 33: 398-414
- Serial force plate analyses of dogs with unilateral knee instability, with or without interruption of the sensory input from the ipsilateral limb.Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1999; 7: 567-573
- The inhibition of subchondral bone resorption in the early phase of experimental dog osteoarthritis by licofelone is associated with a reduction in the synthesis of MMP-13 and cathepsin K.Bone. 2004; 34: 527-538
- Validation and calibration of the Actical accelerometer in preschool children.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006; 38: 152-157
- Validation and calibration of physical activity monitors in children.Obes Res. 2002; 10: 150-157
- Prediction of activity energy expenditure using accelerometers in children.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004; 36: 1625-1631
- Evaluation of a method for experimental induction of osteoarthritis of the hip joints in dogs.Am J Vet Res. 2000; 61: 484-491
- Measuring activity limitations in walking: development of a hierarchical scale for patients with lower-extremity disorders who live at home.Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005; 86: 2277-2283
- The EthoVision video tracking system–a tool for behavioral phenotyping of transgenic mice.Physiol Behav. 2001; 73: 731-744
- Performance measures were necessary to obtain a complete picture of osteoarthritic patients.J Clin Epidemiol. 2006; 59: 160-167
- One-year changes in hind limb kinematics, ground reaction forces and knee stability in an experimental model of osteoarthritis.J Biomech. 1998; 31: 511-517
- Validity of the computer science and applications (CSA) activity monitor in children.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998; 30: 629-633
- Randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of carprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1995; 206: 807-811
- Use of accelerometry-based activity monitors to assess physical activity.in: Welk GJ Physical Activity Assessments for Health Related Research, Champaign, IL. 2002: 125-141
- Laboratory calibration and validation of the Biotrainer and Actitrac activity monitors.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003; 35: 1057-1064
- Reliability of accelerometry-based activity monitors: a generalizability study.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004; 36: 1637-1645
- Preliminary study on owner-reported behaviour changes associated with chronic pain in dogs.Vet Rec. 2001; 149: 423-424
- Development of a questionnaire to measure the effects of chronic pain on health-related quality of life in dogs.Am J Vet Res. 2004; 65: 1077-1084
- Validation of a structured questionnaire as an instrument to measure chronic pain in dogs on the basis of effects on health-related quality of life.Am J Vet Res. 2006; 67: 1826-1836
- Spontaneous activities measured continuously by an accelerometer in beagle dogs housed in a cage.J Vet Med Sci. 2000; 62: 443-447
- Locomotor-dependent and -independent components to hypocretin-1 (orexin A) regulation in sleep-wake consolidating monkeys.J Physiol. 2004; 557: 1045-1053
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
February 16,
2007
Received:
December 5,
2006
Footnotes
Presented at the 2nd World/33rd Annual Veterinary Orthopedic Society Conference, Keystone, CO, March 2006 and the College of Veterinary Medicine Research Forum, March 2006, and at the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Annual Scientific Symposium, Washington, DC, October 2006.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.