US 12,478,050 B2
Gym on a chip for small animal exercise
Xiaoyun Ding, Superior, CO (US); Nakul Sridhar, Beaverton, OR (US); Ding Xue, Boulder, CO (US); and Joyita Bhadra, Boulder, CO (US)
Assigned to The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate, Denver, CO (US)
Filed by The Regents of the University of Colorado, a body, Denver, CO (US)
Filed on Jun. 20, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/807,849.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/212,317, filed on Jun. 18, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0400658 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. A01K 67/30 (2025.01); A01K 29/00 (2006.01); A61D 99/00 (2006.01); A61H 1/00 (2006.01); A61H 23/02 (2006.01); H03H 9/00 (2006.01); H03H 9/02 (2006.01)
CPC A01K 67/30 (2025.01) [A01K 29/005 (2013.01); A61D 99/00 (2013.01); H03H 9/0009 (2013.01); H03H 9/02535 (2013.01); A61H 1/005 (2013.01); A61H 23/0245 (2013.01); A61H 2203/03 (2013.01); H03H 2009/0019 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of performing a swimming exercise on a worm under controlled conditions comprising the steps of:
providing a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device comprising a circular chamber filled with fluid dimensioned to hold a small animal or plurality of animals, wherein the chamber is between a pair of offset interdigital transducers (IDTs) that are deposited on a piezoelectric substrate and wherein upon actuation from a radio frequency (RF) source a SAW is generated and propagates along the piezoelectric substrate towards the chamber whereby it induces an acoustic streaming in the fluid inside the chamber to stimulate swimming exercise of the small animal or small animals;
placing one or more worms in the fluid filled chamber of the SAW device; and
applying power levels of 0.125 W or lower and a 50% duty cycle or lower.