Instruction manual

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5 Analysis 44
Chapter 5: Analysis
Overview
Today’s analog to digital converters make acquiring data very easy. The challenge to all users
is to extract meaning from the mountains of recorded data in order to generate conclusions,
reports, and Nobel Prizes. This process is called analysis.
Built into the DataTrax2 data recording software is a powerful array of data analysis tools. The
variety of tools available strike a balance between the straightforward, general operations that
everyone uses and the vertical, complex routines that only YOU use. So, DataTrax2 is a
powerful analytical tool that can go to work on data right away, or be customized to execute very
specific, complex analysis routines.
Analysis in DataTrax2 is divided into five kinds. Each kind addresses specific analytical
requirements. The following sections of this chapter explain how each kind is used.
Analyses of the First Kind: Wave-to-Wave Transforms
Analytical functions of this kind take ALL of the data in a channel and apply a transform, which
converts the entire waveform described by the data points into a completely new wave that is
displayed on a different channel. Examples of this kind of analysis would be the first derivative
or the integral.
Currently there are more than 50 functions of the First Kind, or Wave-to-Wave Transforms,
included in the DataTrax2 program. These functions can only be accomplished on the Main
window. They are called by using the Add Function menu and can be used on-line or off-line.
When used on-line, the functions can operate at the top acquisition rate of the program,
100,000 samples per second.
In the Add Function menu, the transforms are organized into groups.
The functions within a group have similar setup requirements and are
usually located in a submenu. While the list of available functions is
always expanding, DataTrax2 V2.x includes the following groups:
Periodic, Integral, Derivatives, Spirometry, MultiPoint Calibration,
Channel Math, Filter, Smoothing, Power, Cardiac, EEG, Gain
Telegraph and Digital Input Functions. Each group is discussed
below.
Before beginning to explain the various First Kind functions, it is
appropriate to ask: “Where does the raw data for a wave-to-wave
analysis come from?” It is a question that is appropriate for all of the
First Kind functions. To apply a function on a Raw Data or a
Computed Data channel click the Add Function button on that
channels Channel bar. Choose the desired function from the menu. If
the function requires user specified parameters, a setup dialog will
automatically appear. This setup dialog is also accessible after the Computed Function
channel has been created, from that computed channel’s Mode/Function label in the Channel
Bar.
Whether calculated functions are performed on-line (in real time) or off-line (after recording
has stopped), their setup is the same.