SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
1. System Overview
The Columbus Instruments Exer 3/6 Treadmill is an economical treadmill designed for general-purpose
animal exercising. The overall running surface is divided into individual lanes by use of clear or opaque
lane dividers. By default, the outermost lane dividers are clear to allow the user to view the animal in the
outside lanes. All remaining dividers are opaque to provide isolation. The treadmill is capable of
exercising from 1 to 3 rats or from 1 to 6 mice simultaneously. The running surface can be inclined up to
25° above the horizontal in 5° steps. An optional Downhill Running Adapter allows the running surface to
be declined down to 15° below the horizontal in 5° steps. A safety platform at the end of the belt will
rescue injured or slow moving animals. The floor of the platform can be replaced with stainless-steel grids
which allow the application of electric stimulus (shock) or air-puff stimulus for exercise training. A clear
one-piece lid and hinge cover all of the lanes. The lid and dividers are easily removed for cleaning. The
use of a brushless motor provides very long life and eliminates the need for brush replacement or
commutator refinishing.
The Treadmill Controller functions as the control interface for the Exer 3/6 Treadmill. It provides controls
to set the belt speed and optional configured stimulus. The belt speed is adjustable from 0.0 to 102.3
meters per minute (m/min) and can be commanded to stop, run, or accelerate. The exercise session can be
set to run automatically for a fixed duration of time or distance, providing the exact same exercise regimen
to multiple groups of animals, typical for day-to-day exercise in between experiment sessions. A two-line
LCD display reports the current speed setting, treadmill belt status, odometer distance or time, the
acceleration settings and the stimulus settings. The Treadmill Controller can automatically calibrate the
treadmill belt speed and odometer distance using the optional Speed Sensor.
The optional electric stimulus is a 200ms pulse of current. The maximum current is 2.3 mA and is gated
by the stimulus repetition rate which can be set to 1, 2 or 3 times per second (Hertz, Hz). This results in the
maximum average current of 1. 2mA. Likewise, the optional air-puff stimulus is the same 200ms burst of
air up to a maximum pressure of 0PSI (2069mmHg). The animal is detected by way of a capacitive touch
sensor on each grid, therefore, NO ELECTRIC CURRENT is used to detect the animal. The stimulus
repetition rate can be set to 1, 2 or 3 times per second. Individual toggle switches associated with each lane
on the Exer 3/6 treadmill controls the application of the stimulus to each lane.
The Treadmill Software communicates with the Treadmill Controller to provide PC-controlled exercise
sessions saved as experiments. All of the treadmill settings, less the stimulus intensity, can be set and
continuously varied throughout the session. During an experiment, all of the data reported by all
components of the system, are logged in user-defined intervals to an output *.CSV file. This common file-
type can then be imported into various spreadsheet tabulation programs such as Excel.
