REVIEW article
Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Individual and Social Behaviors
This article is part of the Research TopicEthological neuroscienceView all 23 articles
From Observation to Optimization: Behavioral Metrics that Matter in KPI Based Home Cage Monitoring
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hannover Medical School, Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover, Germany
- 2Comparative Medicine, Novartis International AG, Basel, Switzerland
- 3Tecniplast S.p.A., Buguggiate, Italy
- 4Translational In Vivo Models-In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
- 5Evotec, Translational Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
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Most in vivo scientists would agree that digital biomarkers collected via home-cage monitoring generate valuable data. However, few can tell precisely how valuable. The gap between enthusiasm and evidence has slowed the adoption of digital biomarkers in preclinical research. This framework paper addresses that gap by providing explicit key performance indicators, organized into scientific, operational, welfare, and financial categories. We show how return-on-investment calculations differ across pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations (CROs), and academic institutions. Furthermore, we demonstrate the approach through a worked example in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model that reduces full-time equivalent (FTE) requirements by half. When successfully integrated, digital biomarkers can generate richer datasets, reduce the number of animals, improve welfare, and enhance translational value. However, successful implementation requires clear performance metrics to justify investment and measure success. We also discuss what these technologies cannot do, because understanding limitations matters as much as understanding benefits.
Keywords: behavioral neuroscience, digital biomarkers, Home cage monitoring, Key performance indicators, return on investment
Received: 29 Aug 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Talbot, Scorrano, Gaburro, Lainee and Van Gaalen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marcel Van Gaalen
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