In the background correction window you can correct the primary data for background effects and vizualize the results.
As in the outlier detection and fit windows, there is one plot per available type of measurement (absorbance, luminescence, and fluorescence). A listbox located right to the plot allows you to switch between different measurements of the same type.
The plot shows both the original and the corrected data in green and blue respectively. Data used as background are obviously not corrected.
In the case of absorbance data, background correction amounts to the direct subtraction of the original and background measurements at the corresponding time-points. In the case of fluorescence and luminescence data, this procedure must also take into account that there may be growth differences between the cultures in the target and background wells. The background data are therefore weighted by the relative absorbance levels of the two wells (see [ReferencePaper.html] for details.
The parameters Growth rate and Lag time allow you to adjust the data of the background well, through an affine transformation of the time-scale. This calibration of the time-scale allows the absorbance curves in the target and background wells to be brought closer.
Background correction is important, but you should note that border effects may appear, especially when the correction applied is important.
It is possible to export the data in the plot to an MATLAB M-file by right-clicking the graph, and then choosing Export graph data. Data is saved into an m-file, in a structure named data.