USING VIEWER IN A BEHAVIORAL CORE FACILITY

“As Director of a Behavioral Core Facility I am uniquely qualified to evaluate behavioral testing equipment and software. I have been working with and using Biobserve products since 2006.
I have continued to obtain products and services from Biobserve as we expand our facility, with the last purchase in December, 2016. As a result of my extensive consultation, many collaborators outside the Einstein campus have also purchased Biobserve software and hardware and are very satisfied.
Furthermore as my participation in behavioral experiments is necessarily intensive and diverse, I have had a unique opportunity to compare the various available options and companies systematically. All the Biobserve software and technical interfaces distinguish themselves from the other commercially available applications in several critical ways.

The main features are
1) flexibility, reliability and power
2) user friendly interface
3) top-notch support
4) data output that is validated, accurate and reliable
5) timely and reliable delivery of products and updates.

Firstly, although Biobserve software solutions are very flexible and powerful, they are also very easy to use. Moreover, the simplicity and clarity of the user interface does not come at the cost of analytical power or flexibility. I have obviously been able to apply Viewer for all its intended purposes (circling, EPM, open field, Y-maze, water maze, etc) but additionally for other purposes (back leg gait splay measurements, stereotyped behaviors, bradykinesia, combining with EEG). You can also easily re-analyze data with the benefit of hindsight (for example changing time bin parameters or adding zones) so that you don’t have to repeat experiments with new subjects, which is cost effective and labor saving. The system is also robust, such that it gets solid tracking under less than optimal conditions, a feature which makes it stand out from the other options.

The company is also responsive to requests for innovation and is really ingenious in the way it approaches non-traditional behavioral testing in addition to having an incredibly fast response time and superb support. This means that Viewer is eminently expandable. Almost all the problems I have had have frankly been caused by user errors on our end, but the response time from the company is superlative. They always respond immediately and solve the problem.

I have extensively validated this software in many contexts – just as an example, the automated EPM analysis is far more accurate than a novice experimenter and is in line with an experienced experimenter. Also, Viewer is completely objective and does not lose concentration at the end of the day.

The proof of the quality of the Biobserve products, of course, is from satisfied users and repeat customers. Several of my clients and collaborators, including academics and pharmaceutical companies, have purchased Biobserve software on my recommendation and they have all been more than satisfied and when the time came to expand or purchase new items, they always come back to Biobserve.”

 

Dr. Maria Gulinello
Behavioral Core Facility
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience
Rose F. Kennedy Center RM 925
1410 Pelham Pkwy S.,
Bronx, NY 10461
phone: 718-430-4042