Kinematic Analysis

Markerless limb tracking that quantifies stride-level gait deficits and recovery after stroke.

Overview

A mouse walks on a motorized wheel while we use DeepLabCut to track its paw coordinates markerlessly, quantifying stroke-induced motor impairment and recovery. Every dot and trail here is drawn by us from the tracked coordinates.

Track both forelimbs markerlessly with a DeepLabCut pose model.
Pool paw positions over the walk to reveal the band each limb sweeps through.
Detect footstrikes and liftoffs to segment individual strides.
Compare gait from a pre-stroke baseline through post-stroke days 3 and 27.

Tracking Limb Positions

Baseline, slowed roughly 2.7×. As each forepaw moves it drops a point into the scatter, tracing the tight, repeatable band the limb sweeps through.

Scatter of left and right forelimb positions over the full recording at pre-stroke baseline — Pre-Stroke Baseline

Scatter of left and right forelimb positions over the full recording on post-stroke day 3 — Post-Stroke Day 3

Scatter of left and right forelimb positions over the full recording on post-stroke day 27 — Post-Stroke Day 27

Paw placements are more closely grouped after stroke, with some recovery toward normal paw placement occurring by post-stroke day 27 (though not fully back to baseline).

Stride Analysis

Baseline, slowed roughly 2.7×. The right forelimb draws a fading cyan tracer beside a live position plot, where footstrikes (orange) to footstrikes define each stride.

Right forelimb position over time at pre-stroke baseline, with footstrikes, liftoffs, and stride boundaries marked — Pre-Stroke Baseline

Right forelimb position over time on post-stroke day 3, with footstrikes, liftoffs, and stride boundaries marked — Post-Stroke Day 3

Right forelimb position over time on post-stroke day 27, with footstrikes, liftoffs, and stride boundaries marked — Post-Stroke Day 27

The same right-forelimb trace from pre-stroke baseline through post-stroke days 3 and 27, so the shape and regularity of the step cycle can be compared directly across days. Strides are shorter and more variable after stroke, with some recovery by post-stroke day 27.

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