Motion/Activity Detection: How do I analyze an irregular waveform?

[Ben at ABL]

My lab has recently acquired a Motion/Activity Detector to quantify and compare the activity levels of small (up to 500g) rodents. This detector emits a DC current in which the amplitude is modulated by very slight movements in the cage above the detector. We had originally intended to just hook the detector up to an amplifier and do a rough analysis on the polygraph printout, but if I can figure out how to do peak-detection and other waveform analyses in LabView, it'd make things a lot more precise.

It probably goes without saying that I'm a LabView greenhorn. I've figured things out enough to where I'm acquiring the waveform at a sufficient sample rate. But does anyone know of any examples of the an
alysis of a current like I've described?

[nestor-sg]

Ben,

LabVIEW has analysis tools that you will find useful, you can go ahead and check our NI Developer Zone at the section Analyzing And Processing Signals in LabVIEW, please check the 'General' link. You may want to check the Signal Processing Toolkit as well.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Nestor S.
IMAQ/Motion Support
National Instruments