Noldus, also known as Noldus Information Technology, develops software, instruments, integrated systems and services for behavioral research including recording systems for debriefing purposes in healthcare simulation. These solutions are designed to provide scientists and practitioners the ability to enhance the quality of their data, increase productivity and make optimal use of human resources.
The company is inspired by scientific and societal challenges , and wants to help ensure customers can respond to the demands of today and prepare for those of tomorrow. With Noldus solutions, users will gain the insight they need in processes, human performance, and communication in medical simulation. This is true regardless of whether their objective is to answer a research question, provide high quality medical education or assess team performance.
To help customers improve research, engineering, teaching and training, the company’s open solutions facilitate data exchange and insights discovery. This allows them to come to results rapidly and easily — anytime and anywhere — while safeguarding privacy and security.
The vision of Noldus is to measure behavior, health and well-being for sustainable development and quality of life. The company envisions a world in which these solutions and tools for the measurement of behavior, health and well-being lead professionals to develop innovative products and services that contribute to sustainable development and quality of life.
To work toward the company’s vision, and to meet the needs of customers, Noldus Information Technology offers a number of key features with its debriefing system. These features include advanced technology that allows for accurate behavior measurements, and therefore a higher quality of collected data. Additionally, automated recording systems replace manual work and allow people to do more in less time. By enabling computers to do this often tedious routine work, researchers and technicians can focus on more project-related tasks.
In terms of animal resources, Noldus’ technology allows behavioral measurements to take place under natural and animal-friendly circumstances, while continuous automated observation maximizes the amount of information collected per animal. These advances contribute to the refinement and reduction of laboratory animal testing, increasing animal patient safety.
Together, these features combine the latest sensor technology, computer vision, machine learning and AI techniques to develop cutting-edge tools for science and practice. Using these solutions, customers can measure a wealth of modalities, from behavior and physiology to emotion, cognition and user experience.
The tools further support the objective assessment of health and well-being, in humans and animals. This contributes to better solutions for precision livestock farming, sustainable crop protection and healthy food choice. They also help accelerate the development of new drugs to treat diseases, better medical care, smart homes, more usable products and websites and safer cars, airplanes and work environments.
History of Noldus Information Technology
Noldus Information Technology was established in 1989 by Lucas Noldus, founder and CEO of the company. With a Ph.D. in animal behavior from Wageningen University, Noldus developed the company’s first software tool during his research in entomology. He has strived to advance behavioral research ever since, evolving into a company that provides integrated systems including software, hardware and services.
To date, Noldus offers a wide range of medical simulation solutions for research in animal and human domains, including biology, psychology, marketing, human factors and healthcare. The company has come to work with leading suppliers to develop innovative, state-of-the art products. Enhancing the buyer experience, Noldus Information Technology also offers excellent technical support and customer care.
As a result, Noldus Information Technology system products have found their way into more than 9700 universities, research institutes and companies in almost 100 countries. The company has fourteen offices in nine different countries and is represented by eleven distributors worldwide. The Noldus international headquarters is located in Wageningen, the Netherlands, the North American headquarters is established in Leesburg, Virginia and the Asian headquarters is in Beijing, China.
Noldus showcases the company’s latest innovations and best practices in clinical simulation at the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSiH), SESAM, SimGHOSTS, and at other medical simulation conferences each year.
Noldus Simulation Systems and Services
Of the software Noldus offers, one product is the EthoVision XT. This is the most widely applied video tracking software that tracks and analyzes the behavior, movement and activity of any animal. To gain accurate and reliable data about facial expressions, the company’s FaceReader software is a robust automated system that will help customers bring clear insights into the effect of different stimuli on emotions.
Noldus Information Technology’s Viso software is the easy-to-use solution for creating video and audio recordings in order to capture behaviors and interactions of participants, and to educate, train and improve skills of learners and professionals. The company’s Cube product combines eye tracking, physiological measurements and emotions to provide fast and rich UX data insights and visuals.
Another Noldus product, the Observer XT software comes in both human and animal solution forms, and is a complete software for behavioral research. The software supports customers from coding behaviors on a timeline and unraves the sequence of events to integrate different data modalities in a complete lab or simulation lab. Also coming in two forms, human and animal, Noldus’s TrackLa is a tracking solution for research that helps save time on data collection and analysis. The software also allows users to obtain real-time insights into a wide range of spatial behaviors.
As for software, Noldus distributes Track3D, which is a video-based system for automated tracking of animals in a three-dimensional space. Another software solution, the UltraVox XT, then captures the full acoustic spectrum to process and analyze rodent ultrasonic calls and other animal vocalizations.
In terms of Noldus Information Technology simulation systems, the company offers the CatWalk XT, which is a gait analysis system for quantitative assessment of footfalls and locomotion in rats and mice. There is also the DanioVision research system that is designed for high-throughput tracking of zebrafish larvae and other small organisms.
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Suited for video tracking with EthoVision XT, Noldus Information Technology presents a wide range of standard and custom mazes to customers for the behavioral assessment of animal models. From portable and stationary labs for observation and analysis of human behavior to high-tech turn-key usability labs, Noldus can deliver integrated labs customized by customers. Noldus’s eye trackers can add substantial power to these lab set-ups.
Noldus offers several data acquisition systems that work in conjunction with The Observer XT. Customers can benefit from synchronous recordings of physiological data, video and behavior. Another system, the PhenoTyper, is an instrumented observation cage to measure and test the behavior of laboratory rodents. Every cage is equipped with a top unit (LED units and a camera) and optionally with other sensor and stimuli devices. There is also a ErasmusLadder system, which is designed for the assessment of motor performance and motor learning in mice.
Regarding services, NoldusCare helps customers achieve maximum return on investment. The service is fast, reliable and available worldwide. To make sure these accommodations are standard, the company’s Knowledge and Services department consists of consultants, trainers and scientists that can help customers develop their research, design their lab, or do their research for them.
