Digital Measurements
As the methodology was refined and the transplant studies
became more complex, it became necessary to automate the process and provide a digital
record in order to save time in making the measurements. A portable analytical
balance had been used since the original measurements were made in 1987 but it was not
until 1991 that an industrial grade digital calipers was used. That same year the
system was further automated by interfacing the calipers and balance with a laptop computer
by using specialized hardware and software. This facilitates
processing a relatively large number of animals in a single day (about 3,000) with two
teams of three persons each and two measurement systems.|
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The digital measurement
system includes a laptop computer in the middle, the digital calipers at front-left, and the portable
analytical balance to the right of the laptop. At the far right is a
supplementary
hand switch supported by a wooden 2" x 4" block that facilitates sending the
caliper measurements rather than attempting to use the rather small switch on the
calipers. As the appropriate buttons are pushed, the data are automatically sent to
an EXCEL spreadsheet. This also facilitates conducting the statistical tests at the
beginning and end of the test. In the early test, all the data would have to be
hand-entered before running the statistical analyses to confirm that there were no
statistically significant differences in weights or lengths at the beginning of the
test, and for larger tests this could take hours. |
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Weighing live Macoma nasuta at the beginning of the test |
Measuring Macoma lengths at the beginning of the test |
Weighing Macoma tissues at the end of the test |