Leech Treadmill

Yes this may seem insane or odd, perhaps both. No one has ever done physical therapy on a leech. We tried a few different methods, and eventually settled on this small but mighty treadmill. And, perhaps not a surprise, but this is the world's only leech treadmill.

This is a video of the treadmill, in action, set to music. Since leeches cooperate less than a toy chicken, the chicken is used as a stunt double. The treadmill is slow because leeches, (especially recovering ones) move quite slow.

No leeches were hurt in the making of this video although the chicken was real arrogant for about a week afterward.

The treadmill has a silicone mold on it that forces the leech's body into the same position it would be in during crawling. The size of the mold has to be tailored to the leech's size.