RandoMice, a novel, user-friendly randomization tool in animal research

PLoS ONE, vol. 15, pp. e0237096

Abstract

Careful design of experiments using living organisms (e.g. mice) is of critical importance from both an ethical and a scientific standpoint. Randomization should, whenever possible, be an integral part of such experimental design to reduce bias thereby increasing its reliability and reproducibility. To keep the sample size as low as possible, one might take randomization one step further by controlling for baseline variations in the dependent variable(s) and/or certain known covariates. To give an example, in animal experiments aimed to study atherosclerosis development, one would want to control for baseline characteristics such as plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels and body weight. This can be done by first defining blocks to create balance among groups in terms of group size and baseline characteristics, followed by random assignment of the blocks to the various control and intervention groups. In the current study we developed a novel, user-friendly tool that allows users to easily randomize animals into blocks and identify random block divisions that are well-balanced based on given baseline characteristics, making randomization time-efficient and easy-to-use. Here, we present the resulting software tool that we have named RandoMice.

Authors 6

1. Robin van Eenige Aachen Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Peternella S. Verhave Aachen Animal Welfare Body

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Animal Welfare Body, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

3. Peter J. Koemans
   Affiliation as printed

   Independent Consultant, Gouda, The Netherlands

4. Ivo ACW Tiebosch
   Affiliation as printed

   Animal Welfare Body Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

5. Patrick C.N. Rensen Aachen Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

6. Sander Kooijman corresponding Aachen Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands