Bioassay System Based on Behavioral Analysis and Bioelectric Ventilatory Signals of a Small Fish

Particular attention has recently been paid to bioassay systems that allow the responses of living organisms to be monitored to support water quality evaluation. This technology can complement traditional chemical inspection methods, which have limitations in terms of chemical substance coverage and inspection frequency. This paper proposes a bioassay system that can be used to detect the water contamination by monitoring the behavior and ventilatory signals of zebrafish. Rather than engaging an optical device, the system extracts behavioral information from the ventilatory signals measured via an electrode array, thereby providing advantages in terms of robustness against changes in environmental light. This paper then describes the capacity of the proposed system to detect contamination with ethanol (a low-toxicity substance) as an example.