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12 ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT


and few would argue differently, but then so too are chocolate and convenience foods. But we don’t live simple lives and the arguments for and against must take into account other factors, such as our lifestyle, genetic make-up, and environmental pressures. Chocolate may be bad for us but regular exercise may offset its effects unless, of course, you suffer from diabetes. “Or take a study into the efficacy of drug treatment, where the outcome may be influenced by many other factors. Tis could include personal factors, such as age, gender, previous medical history, social and


environmental factors such as income, postcode and where the care is provided, and other factors such as whether the drug is used solo or in combination. “Fortunately, our acquisitive


approach to collecting data, which is especially true of the healthcare sector, means we have no shortage of information about the manifold factors that may impact our health outcomes. We just need to know what the question is!”


Don’t ask questions – look for patterns Cosmos takes a different approach, relying on taking in as


Specialist language M


ultidimensional processing on the scale of Cosmos


would take days or even weeks using traditional techniques. Cosmos relies on the Dyalog APL language to deliver its real-time performance, a specialist language designed to specifically handle mathematical processing. An illustration of its power is that the inventors managed


www.scientistlive.com


to write the code in a matter of hundreds of lines rather than thousands. The APL language is


highly effective at solving problems that involve performing complex calculations on lists or arrays (‘chunks’ of data). Its bit- manipulation capabilities make it a great tool for embedded, robotics and computer vision applications.


much data as possible from a wide variety of sources. Ten, handling up to 20 data dimensions at a time, it actively searches for patterns and anomalies, and graphically displays links between the data points. Rather than asking discrete questions, it visualises patterns and hot spots within the data so that the researcher can be guided towards the areas where questions should, could or might be asked. What’s more, it monitors and tracks the totality of the data store in real time, constantly updating the graphical display in response to the changing data.


“Cosmos eliminates the need


to know which question to ask,” says Grosvenor. “Instead, it illuminates correlations of data where you can drill down and investigate the underlying individual factors that are coming together. Several clients have called it a ‘thesis generator’ as it allows researchers to tailor their questioning of the data to what the data actually displays, rather than what they think it might hold. “It is a fundamentally different


approach to unlocking the business intelligence held in the data,” he concludes.


For more information visit www.optima-systems.co.uk


Above: Looking for anomalies and patterns helps researchers ask the right questions about their data


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