BlueBox automates the two most widely used chronic stress paradigms in rodent psychiatric research — CUMS (chronic unpredictable mild stress) and CRS (chronic restraint stress) — with a single programmable platform.
The models work — but the workflow doesn't scale.
CUMS requires a randomised schedule of varied stressors delivered over weeks: cage tilting, wet bedding, light-cycle inversion, restraint, cold exposure, and more. Every stressor typically requires a researcher to be present, cycling through the colony on a strict timetable.
CRS demands precisely timed restraint sessions, day after day, across dozens of animals in parallel. Batch consistency depends entirely on whether the person running the protocol is having a good week — which is not how reproducible science is supposed to work.
A programmable automation platform that executes CUMS and CRS protocols end-to-end. Configure the schedule once, then let the system run — unattended, consistent, and parallel across multiple channels.
BlueBox covers the chronic stress protocols most widely used in depression and anxiety research — with full flexibility over scheduling parameters.
Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress. The gold-standard depression induction protocol. BlueBox executes randomised stress schedules over weeks, delivering each stressor automatically and logging the full timeline for reproducibility.
Chronic Restraint Stress. Precisely timed restraint sessions over the full protocol window. Session duration, frequency, and inter-session intervals are all programmable — with automatic release at the end of each session.
Standard CUMS and CRS protocols are pre-configured, but every parameter — stressor sequence, session timing, randomisation seed, batch size — is fully tunable to match the specific experimental question you're designing around.
The platform is built around the practical constraints of running chronic stress experiments at research scale.
Configure the full protocol at the start. The platform executes the stressor schedule autonomously over the weeks-long induction window — no daily researcher intervention required.
Stressor timing, duration, and sequence are delivered identically to every animal in a batch. Operator-driven variability — the largest source of between-batch noise — is eliminated.
Multi-channel architecture allows multiple animals or cohorts to be run in parallel on independent protocol schedules — supporting between-group comparisons and scaled experimental designs.
Downstream validation. Models induced on BlueBox show clear phenotypic differentiation on standard downstream behavioural assays — Sucrose Preference Test (SPT), Forced Swim Test (FST), and Open Field Test (OFT) — matching the profile expected from classical manually-run CUMS and CRS protocols.
BlueBox is developed by an independent partner laboratory. We work alongside them to introduce the platform to researchers who would benefit from it.
The platform is designed and built by an external laboratory we collaborate with. It complements our own projects — covering the model-induction stage of the research pipeline that sits upstream of behavioural analysis.
If you're interested in evaluating BlueBox for your laboratory, get in touch with us. We'll connect you directly with the developing lab for technical specifications, availability, and procurement discussions.
BlueBox covers the model-induction stage. For single-animal assays and colony-scale behavioural tracking, we also build two complementary tools.
Multi-animal behavioural tracking system. 144-channel RFID + video fusion tracks up to 20 individually identified mice continuously, in their home environment. 41 metrics output per session.
Explore TruMouse Pro → Free & Open SourceZero-code desktop software for classical single-animal paradigms — OFT, TST, NOR, EPM, Y-Maze. Batch video analysis, local processing, GPL-3.0 on GitHub.
Explore MouseScope →We'll connect you with the developing laboratory for technical details and next steps. No commitment — just a conversation.
Partner product · Introductions arranged directly with developing laboratory