Knowledge Base

Why This Technical Note

This technical note describes how you can merge heatmaps into one, when the data have been collected in different arenas/apparatuses.

Use Case Example

An EthoVision XT experiment has subjects being grouped based on the treatment level (or genetic background, etc.). Subjects are tested in four separate arenas. Because of the randomized design, each arena will be used for all treatment levels/groups. For example, Arena 1 will receive a subject of treatment level A in trial 1, then a subject of level B in trial 2 etc. As a result, one arena will not contain data of all trials with a specific group. The researcher would like to create a heatmap with all the trials that belong to that treatment level, and plot it on one arena layout, not four. EthoVision XT cannot do that with the current functionality.

Important Terms

• Reference Point: A point in the 2D space defined in the EthoVision XT Arena Settings, which serves as a reference point for re-calculation of the x,y coordinates of the subjects. The reference point must be defined in all the areas.
• JavaScript Variable: A custom variable defined in the EthoVision XT Analysis profile based on JavaScript code. In this note, JavaScript variables are defined to convert the original x,y coordinates to a new set of coordinates relative to the point of reference.

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - THC - Trial and Hardware Control, Noldus Information Technology