DALE--a system for developing computer-aided biomedical experiments

The implementation of new computer-aided biomedical experiments usually requires a high level of computing expertise and a significant amount of time. Acquiring this knowledge and devoting the necessary time may result in the inefficient use of a researcher's own particular skills. A number of software aids for laboratory experimentation have been developed, but it is considered that none adequately satisfies the user's requirements. DALE (direct access to laboratory equipment) has been designed as a user-oriented software system, and consists of a menu-based interactive subsystem, with which experiments are defined, and a table-driven interpreter to execute the experiment. Little computing knowledge or development time is required to implement new experiments, and experience has indicated that DALE is a useful tool for biomedical experimentation.