Visualize, record and analyze simple and complex behaviors This system enables you to perform automatically controlled behavioral experiments without the disadvantages of an artificial setup such as skinner boxes or running wheels.	Service menu Request an online demo Request a quote Download short brochure Download entire information
	Take a look at our User Stories to see how our customers use this system for their research.

	Object tracking with establishment of the animal's body axis
	Our solution does not only track the center of the animal (as competitive products do) but also the nose and the tail without marking the animal. Thus we can provide much more detailed behavioral analysis and automate more complex experiments like novelty, object recognition and social interaction.
	Head wagging, head stretches and freezing
	Due to the fact that we collect the x/y coordinates of three points (nose, body and tail) our software can automatically detect and count behaviors like head wagging, head stretches and freezing.
	Zones
	The zone definition function is very useful if you would like to observe, quantify, or compare the behavior of an animal in one or more defined areas of the experiment arena. You can create up to 50 zones with different forms or you can use a grid with columns and rows. Start/Stop zones You can use the zones also for starting and/or finishing an experiment. Each zone can be defined as a Start/Stop zone. Or you can use the zones to control external hardware when the animal steps into a zone by using the optional output channels.
	Data acquisition
	Based on the x/y coordinates, different parameters are calculated in real time during the experiment: Time, track length, experiment duration, velocity, velocity classes (user definable), ambulation (user definable), activity/inactivity (user definable) and the distance of a reference point (head, body or tail) to each zone For each zone created, the following parameters are gathered: Velocity, track length, length of stay, number of entries, number of head bobs, number of head stretches
	Intervention potential
	A variety of additional input and output channels are available for Viewer. Besides the input channel for the video signal, Viewer’s basic version contains an additional analogue input and output channel. During object tracking you can record additional information (for ex. animal sounds) from the experimental arena through the additional input channel. The additional output channel allows you to intervene during the experiment. This can be conducted manually or via an automatically triggered program that can be either time or place dependent. The program can, for example, give out a signal (e.g. light flash) serving as a stimulus with rewarding or punishing character, either automatically as a function of time or as a recorded event. The event could, for example, be the touching of an object, the position of the observed animal in a defined area, or a behavioral pattern. As an extension we offer external boxes, which can be controlled and exploited with the help of 8 analog input and 8 digital output channels. With this possibility you can build fully automated training and learning experiments.
	Further processing of data and graphics
	The data collected in the raw data table as well as in the result table can be imported for other applications. Further individual data manipulations can be conducted. The automatic export function for MS Excel or XML is integrated. All diagrams and graphics that have been generated during the experiment are saved in the vector graphic format (wmf) thereby making them easy to integrate and work with in other programs. After having conducted an experiment, the movements of the animal can be redrawn as a trajectory in either defined time windows, or for the entire duration of the experiment.		Export filters for the data: *.txt, *.doc, *.csv, *.xls, *.xml Export filters for the graphs: *.bmp, *.wmf, *.emf
	FireWire support
	The software supports the FireWire/iLink port for digital video cameras. You can use any DV-Camera with a FireWire port. This simplifies the installation because no frame grabber card or driver problems occur. It's just plug and measure. PAL resolution: 720 x 576 pixels NTSC resolution: 720 x 480 pixels Of course you can use USB cameras, too.
	Digital video encoding included
	You do not want to fill another locker with video tapes? With the Viewer software you can directly encode your experiment to a digital video file in real time. Easy to do, easy to store and easy to handle. These different source signals can be used with the Viewer software: FireWire camera (live or tape), USB camera, analog camera, VCR, digital video file.
	Recalculate old data with new parameters
	Now you can easily recalculate old tracking data with new parameters. Since the software stores all acquired data within the result file you can now reanalyze old data based on a new configuration. Load a result file, change the configuration (e.g. modify the zones) and reanalyze the data. It takes only some seconds. Thus you can also use your old data if a new question appears. Watch this movie and see how easy and fast the reanalysis of a four arena setup can be. The movie shows how a result file is opened, all existing zones are deleted, some new zones are defined and some activity parameters are changed. After that, the results are reanalyzed based on the new configuration and the new results appear after a few seconds.
	The Plug-In solution
	The Plug-In solution offers you flexibility, extensibility and productivity. Viewer is a very flexible tool and offers a variety of parameters, graphs and data displays. However it cannot cover everything in the standard version and that's why we invented the Plug-Ins for our tracking software. Either for standardized experiments (e.g. water maze) or for your special experimental set up we offer Plug-Ins that offers even more parameters in the configuration and different tables and graphs in the analysis. More ...
	Flexibility
	The Viewer software is a very extensive and powerful tool. The flexible character allows for practical operation in a lot of different experimental setups. If you are wondering if the Viewer software can meet your individual experimental demands, please feel free to contact us. We will evaluate your requirements and adapt the Viewer’s functionality accordingly.
	Useful for many behavioral experiments
	The "Viewer" tracking software can be used for many different experiments like all kinds of mazes, open field tracking, object recognition and novelty scan. It is a kind of a swiss army knife for behavioral phenotyping.

	Phenotyping with the Viewer system
	The following list shows what kind of phenotypes can be detected with the Viewer system based on the Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) project that provides integrated access to data on the genetics, genomics, and biology of the laboratory mouse. Take a look at the Mammalian Phenotype Browser for more information Name of the test (MP term) MP ID abnormal active avoidance behavior 2798 abnormal conditioned taste aversion behavior 2805 abnormal contextual conditioning [1] 1469 abnormal cued conditioning behavior [2] 1454 abnormal food preference 1432 abnormal long-term recognition memory 2801 abnormal olfactory -discrimination memory 1460 abnormal operant conditional behavior [3] 2803 abnormal passive avoidance behavior [4] 2799 abnormal short-term recognition memory 2800 bradykinesia [5] 5156 head bobbing [6] 1410 head shaking [7] 2730 head tossing [8] 5307 increased exploration in new environment 1415 increased exploration in new environment 1415 negative geotaxis[9] 5356 reduced exploration in new environment 1417 reduced exploration in new environment 1417 retropulsion [10] 5357 thigmotaxis [11] 2797 walking backwards 5420 decreased coping response 3064 increased coping response 3063 bi-directional circling 1395 bradykinesia [12] 5156 hyperactivity elicited by ethanol administration 2629 hypoactivity [13] 1402 increased vertical activity 2574 lethargy [14] 5202 no spontaneous movement 1404 reduced vertical activity 2757 unidirectional circling 1396 decreased anxiety 1364 increased anxiety 1363 Polyphagia [15] 1433 [1] defect in the ability of an animal to learn and remember an association between an an aversive experience (the unconditioned stimulus (US), ususally a shock) and a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus (CS), or the environmental context in this case) [2] defect in the ability of an animal to learn and remember an association between an an aversive experience (the unconditioned stimulus (US), ususally a shock) and a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus (CS), usually an auditory cue or light) [3] defects in the operant conditioning system refers to abnormalities in scheduled controlled behavior; behavioral assessment occurs in an automated chamber where responses are reinforced with food [4] defects in the ability of an animal to enter an hostile environment where it receives a unpleasant or punishing stimuli applied previously with prolonged latency [5] decreased spontaneity and movement [6] appears compulsive [7] appears compulsive [8] compulsive flailing of the head in multiple directions [9] mice, when placed on a downward on a slanting grid, walk down without turning around, whereas wild type mice will always turn around and walk upward [10] when placed in a new environment, mice will walk backwards and then may walk forwards, whereas wild type mice will immediately walk forward, or freeze momentarily and then walk forward [11] preference of a mouse for the side walls of a cage or box; usually an indicator of increased anxiety response [12] decreased spontaneity and movement [13] reduced movement from one place to another [14] mild impairment of consciousness resulting in reduced alertness and awareness; ultimately due to generalized brain dysfunction [15] eating to excess

	If you have questions concerning this product, please don´t hesitate to use the following e-mail address: viewer@biobserve.com
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