Systems and methods for monitoring behavior informatics

• US 20030004652A1
• Filed: 05/15/2002
• Published: 01/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniela Brunner, Emer Leahy, Vijay Gondhalekar
• Original Assignee: Daniela Brunner, Emer Leahy, Vijay Gondhalekar
• Inventors: Leahy, Emer, Gondhalekar, Vijay, Brunner, Daniela
• Application Number:
  US10/147,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20030004652A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/19
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/031 Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 20/00 ICT specially adapted for functional genomics or proteomics, e.g. genotype-phenotype associations
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/00 ICT specially adapted for biostatistics; ICT specially adapted for bioinformatics-related machine learning or data mining, e.g. knowledge discovery or pattern finding
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/20 Supervised data analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/30 Unsupervised data analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 50/00 ICT programming tools or database systems specially adapted for bioinformatics
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 50/20 Heterogeneous data integration
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage

Abstract

A system and method used to assess animal behavior includes a module having sensors that collects a variety of physical and biological data from a test subject. Interpretation of the data is provided to assess the test subject'"'"'s behavior, neurology, biochemistry and physiology. The module is useful in observing the effects of a drug on the test animal and providing information on the drug'"'"'s signature. Another advantage is module'"'"'s portability that allows it to be used in standard laboratory cages. (NOT SURE ABOUT THIS PORTABILITY) This portability allows the animal to be tested in its own habitat, that can reduce any erroneous data due to stressing the animal when removed to a test cage. Additionally, the module'"'"'s design allows for parallel data collection and interpretation from several laboratory animals undergoing different experiments. Multi-dimensional modeling of the test subject based the system'"'"'s interpretation of the data allows pattern recognition of the drug signature, and predictive drug analysis.

Claims

1. A method for conducting a drug discovery business, comprising:

(i) obtaining behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, for one or more animals treated with a test compound;

(ii) comparing the obtained data with a signature that represents a probability relationship between a response of an animal to a test compound and a set of predictor variables which define correlations between observed behavioral, neurological, biochemical and/or physiological responses and known drugs and/or predetermined genetic traits, said relationship derived through using at least one automated non-linear algorithm;

(iii) determining, from the comparison data of step (ii), the suitability of further clinical development of the test compound;

(iv) for compounds selected for further clinical development, conducting therapeutic profiling of the test compound, or analogs thereof, for efficacy and toxicity in animals; and

(v) identifying a pharmaceutical preparation including one or more agents identified in step (iv) as having an acceptable therapeutic and/or toxicity profile.

2. The method of claim 1, including an additional step of licensing said agents to a manufacturer for manufacture and sale of a pharmaceutical preparation comprising said agent.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said correlation step further includes the step of comparing said signature which includes data from untreated animals.

4. A method for conducting a drug discovery business, comprising:

(i) obtaining behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, for one or more animals treated with a test compound;

(ii) comparing the obtained data with a signature that represents a probability relationship between a response of an animal to a test compound and a set of predictor variables which define correlations between observed behavioral, neurological, biochemical and/or physiological responses and known drugs and/or predetermined genetic traits, said relationship derived through using at least one automated non-linear algorithm;

(iii) determining, from the comparison data of step (ii), the suitability of further clinical development of the test compound;

(iv) optionally for compounds selected for further clinical development, conducting therapeutic profiling of the test compound, or analogs thereof, for efficacy and toxicity in animals; and

(v) licensing, to a third party, the rights for further drug development of the test compound or analogs thereof.

5. A method for conducting a drug discovery business, comprising:

(i) obtaining behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, for one or more animals treated with a test compound;

(ii) accessing a computer system comprising;

a) one or more measurement databases having data representative of behavioral and physiological measurements from previous experiments with animals treated with drugs and/or exposed to an environmental cue or any other type of treatment different from that given to normal, control and/or sham-treated animals;

b) a query server program that receives query behavioral, neurological, biochemical and/or physiological data from one or more users of the system;

c) a database searching program that (a) compares query data with a signature derived from said measurement database(s), and (b) correlates the query data with behavior of animals treated with other drugs; and

d) a reporting program that generates reports including information representative of the degree of correlation, if any, between said query data and entries in said measurement database(s),

and receiving information representative of the degree of correlation, if any, between said query data and entries in said measurement database(s);

(iii) determining, at least in part from the correlation of step (ii), potential modes of action of the test compound, and assessing the suitability of further clinical development of the test compound;

(iv) for compounds selected for further clinical development, conducting therapeutic profiling of the test compound, or analogs thereof, for efficacy and toxicity in animals; and

(v) formulating a pharmaceutical preparation including one or more agents identified in step (iv) as having an acceptable therapeutic and/or toxicity profile.

6. A method for conducting a drug discovery business, comprising:

(A) providing a research group that obtains behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, for one or more animals treated with a test compound;

(B) providing a data mining system for analyzing the obtained data, said system comprising;

(i) one or more measurement databases including information representative of behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, for previous experiments with animals treated with drugs and having predetermined genetic traits and/or have otherwise exposed to an environmental cue different from normal, control and/or sham-treated animals;

(ii) a query server program that receives query data from one or more users of the system;

(iii) a database searching program that (a) compares query data with a signature derived from said measurement database(s), and (b) correlates the query data with behavioral, neurological, biochemical and/or physiological responses of animals treated with other drugs and/or having predetermined genetic traits; and

(iv) a reporting program that generates reports including information representative of the degree of correlation, if any, between said query data and entries in said measurement database(s);

(C) determining, using the system of (B), potential modes of action of the test compound, and assessing the suitability of further clinical development of the test compound;

(D) for compounds selected for further clinical development, conducting therapeutic profiling of the test compound, or analogs thereof, for efficacy and toxicity in animals; and

(E) formulating a pharmaceutical preparation including one or more agents identified in step (D) as having an acceptable therapeutic and/or toxicity profile.

7. A service for administering, over a wide area network, access to data mining signatures for identifying potential modes of action of a candidate drug, said service comprising:

(A) providing a server system, in communication with a wide area network, including;

(i) one or more databases including information representative of behavioral and physiological measurements, and (optionally) one or more of neurological and biochemical measurements, observed from previous experiments with animals having predetermined genetic traits, treated with drugs, and/or exposed to an environmental cue or other type of treatment different from experienced by normal, control and/or sham-treated animals;

(ii) a query server program that receives query behavioral, neurological, biochemical and/or physiological data from one or more users of the system;

(iii) a database searching program that

(a) compares said query data with a signature derived from said measurement database(s), and

(b) correlates the query data with entries in said measurement database(s); and

(iv) a reporting program that generates reports accessible by said user and including information representative of the degree of correlation, if any, between said query data and entries in said measurement database(s);

(B) allowing users to connect to said server system through the wide area network and to input query data;

(C) delivering said reports from said reporting program to said user.

8. The service of claim 7, including the further step of invoicing a fee to said user.