IMPROVED FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS USING VIDEO RECORDING TO ASSESS FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY FOLLOWING INJURY TO THE RAT SCIATIC-NERVE

Footprint analysis is a non-invasive method to quantitate functional r ecovery after crush injury in the rat sciatic nerve model. Traditional methods of producing the footprints for measurement are limited by in ability to reliably produce clear prints when the injury is severe. We describe the use of video technique with image analysis to record and measure these prints. Video had fewer unmeasurable prints than ink. F or the 1-5 and 2-4 toe spreads, there was good correlation of video me asurements with ink method and better repeatability using video as com pared with ink. However, the print length parameter determined by vide o had poorer repeatability and poorly correlated with that measured by ink. Therefore, calculation of a Sciatic Function Index by video is n ot appropriate. Since the print length also varies with gait velocity, we believe that a ratio of injured:uninjured hindfoot 1-5 toe spreads as measured by video is a more reliable and repeatable measure of fun ctional recovery in this model.