ReadMe.html for:

CaltechTracker(BMCGenetics2005).zip

The contents of CaltechTracker(BMCGenetics2005).zip represent the software components of an integrated C. elegans behavior analysis system developed by Christopher J. Cronin and Saleem Muhktar (Paul Sternberg's Laboratory, California Institute of Technology) as published by Cronin et alia, BMC Genetics 2005, 6:5 (7 February 2005) (Abstract available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/6/5/abstract ).

CaltechTracker(BMCGenetics2005).zip contains folders with the source code for:

- Tracker (runs a computer controlled microscope stage for videotaping worms)

- Recognizer2.1 (runs a computer controlled VCR and extracts worm "spine" coordinate data)

- wormtools2p1 (Matlab toolbox for extracting usable measures of nematode behavior)

- Tracker is a tool for using a computer-controlled microscope stage to keep a moving nematode in the field of view of a microscope-mounted camera. This version of Tracker is designed to run under Windows NT 4.0 using Matrox ActiveMIL-Lite 5.1 vision libraries with a Matrox Meteor-II/Standard frame grabber and a Ludl BioPoint inverted microscope stage and controller.

- Recognizer2_1 controls the playback of a computer-controlled VCR, digitizes the video, and calculates and records the posture and position of the moving nematode. Recognizer2_1 is designed to run under Windows 2000 using Matrox ActiveMIL-Lite 7.1 vision libraries with a Matrox Meteor-II/Standard frame grabber and a Panasonic AG-5710 VCR.

- wormtools2p1 is a Matlab "toolbox" containing the Matlab functions necessary for extracting and displaying usable measures of nematode behavior from the coordinate data collected with Recognizer2_1. These tools were developed in Matlab r13 (Matlab version 6.5) under Windows, and have also been used successfully under Mac OS X (versions 10.2 and 10.3). For proper operation, wormtools2p1 requires the Matlab "Signal Processing" toolbox, available from the Mathworks.

This software is Copyright © 2005 California Institute of Technology. The authors offer this software free for NON-COMMERCIAL use; for any other uses please contact the authors for permission.

There is no warranty with this software whatsoever. Use at your own risk.

The authors request that if you use this software, please let us know! We would greatly appreciate hearing of its utility in other labs!

- Christopher J. Cronin email: cjc

- Paul W. Sternberg email: pws

(both addresses at caltech.edu)

California Institute of Technology - February 15, 2005