During this webinar, Brandon Bucher lifts the veil on common, costly and harmful data acquisition and analysis errors, showing how to avoid them in order to produce optimal data and quality results. He covers key concepts such as setting up your data acquisition system correctly, proper signal conditioning, artifact rejection and preparing data for analysis, exporting data and how elements of your experimental protocol may impact decisions made at each stage. Content covered in this webinar is most relevant to scientists in the following research fields and those interested in the following signals: Human Physiology: Autonomic, Cardiovascular, Exercise Physiology, Neurophysiology, Cognitive Psychophysiology, Respiratory, Sleep Studies, Tissue and Circulation Animal Physiology: Autonomic, Tissue and Circulation, Telemetry, Behavior, Sleep and Neuroscience, Cardiovascular Function and Electrophysiology, in vitro Pharmacology, Isolated Tissue and Organ Electrophysiology Signals/Measurements: Angles, Dissolved Gasses, dP/dT, ECG, EEG, Electrical Stimulation, EMG, EOG, Extracellular Recordings, Fluid Flow, Force, Glucose, GSR, Heart Rate, Intracellular Recordings, NIBP, pH, Pressure, Pulse, RER, Respiratory Flow, Respiratory Gas Analysis, Sounds, SpO2, Temperature, Tissue Perfusion, Video, Volume

1. Maximizing Data Quality in
Life Science Data Acquisition
and Analysis
Brandon Bucher, Head of Research at ADInstruments, shares
best practices, technical considerations and expert advice on
how to avoid common data acquisition system and data analysis
mistakes in order to produce higher quality data.

2. Brandon Bucher
Head of Research,
ADInstruments
Dunedin, New Zealand
Maximizing Data Quality in
Life Science Data Acquisition
and Analysis

3. InsideScientific is an online
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5. Maximizing Data Quality in
Life Science Data Acquisition and Analysis
Brandon Bucher, Head of Research

6. You said this is your biggest challenge to high quality data…

7. Today, we will focus on what is most important
Data Acquisition Basics
Dealing with Noise
✓ Data Qualification
✓ Artifact Rejection
✓ Repeatability and Reliability
✓ Automation
Being Prepared for:

8. Data Acquisition Basics

9. Sampling Rate
Compare the effects of low and high sampling rates on a signal:
Original analog signal If the sampling rate is too low:
- Information will be irreversibly lost
-The original signal will not be
represented correctly
If the sampling rate is too high:
- No information is lost,
but the excess data increases
processing time, may give excessive
noise in the signal or result in
unnecessarily large disk files

10. Sampling Rate – How do I choose?
Compare the effects of low and high sampling rates on a signal:
Original analog signal If the sampling rate is too low:
- Information will be irreversibly lost
-The original signal will not be
represented correctly
If the sampling rate is too high:
- No information is lost,
but the excess data increases
processing time, may give excessive
noise in the signal or result in
unnecessarily large disk files
• Nyquist Frequency is the minimum
• 5-10 times the highest expected frequency is recommended
• May also be dependent on calculations and analysis considerations
Optimal Sampling Rate:

11. Amplification, Resolution, and Range

12. • Try to match your recording range to 2x your highest expected signal amplitude
• Keep in mind the resulting resolution
Optimal Amplification and Range
Amplification, Resolution, and Range - How do I choose?

13. Filter Settings
Original
Waveform
Note the presence of
both high and low
frequencies in the signal.
Low Pass
Filter
A low-pass filter allows signal
frequencies below the low cut-
off frequency to pass, and
blocks frequencies above the
cut-off frequency.
It is commonly used to help
reduce environmental noise
and provide a smoother signal.
High Pass
Filter
A high-pass filter allows
frequencies higher than the cut-
off frequencies to pass through
and removes any steady direct
current (DC) component or slow
fluctuations from the signal.
Such filters are often used to
stabilize the baseline of a signal
(i.e. minimize the baseline drift in
an ECG signal).
Smoothing
Processing
Original Data Window
New Single Data Point

14. Insert AD
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15. Data Acquisition Basics - Demonstration

16. Noise

17. Noise Tip #1 - Turn it all off, get organized!
By 247homerescue [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons
Potential Sources of Noise
✓ Computers
✓ Power Supplies
✓ Mobile Phones
✓ Refrigerators
✓ Other Laboratory Instruments

18. Potential Solutions:
✓ Faraday Cages
✓ Grounding Instrumentation (but avoid loops)
✓ Headstages/Near Subject Amplification
✓ Shielded Cabling
✓ Insulating Cables
✓ Cable/Clutter Reduction
Noise Tip #2 - If necessary, protect your instrumentation from interference
By Tkgd2007 [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
By UofA RFV [CC BY-SA 3.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licens
es/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia
Commons

19. Noise Tip #3 - Choose appropriate filters
• Filters can be enabled in your hardware or digitally (post acquisition)
• Hardware filters have some major advantages, but are critical to set correctly
• Software filters can be enabled at any time, and are editable, but are potentially less effective
• Active filters can help with persistent mains noise
• Be consistent: don’t just use a filter when you have to, use it on every file if there may be an issue
• Smoothing may be appropriate instead of filtering
• When it is hard to discern the difference between your signal and noise via frequency
• Intermittent “artifact”

20. Being prepared for data qualification, artifact rejection, repetition, and automated analysis
• Use Annotations and Comments
liberally
• Play by your own rules, but make sure
you have some, and that they are
consistent
• Make Consistent Repeatable Selections
for analysis and image export
• Use calculations and scripting where
possible
• Run a sample experiment, find the best
approach to your analysis, work back to
your protocol, save a settings file

21. Being Prepared: Demonstration

22. Brandon Bucher
Head of Research,
ADInstruments
Dunedin, New Zealand
info@adinstruments.com
www.adinstruments.com/events
Twitter: @Adinstruments
Connect with ADI
#LifeScienceWebinar #ISCxADI
Thank You
For additional information on the products and applications presented during this
webinar please visit www.adinstruments.com