When selecting Test Methods, Ai.Study enables you to define “endpoints” (often referred to as Ethical or Humane endpoints) – results, outcomes or observations that exceed a specified threshold, as defined in your SOPs and agreed with your veterinary staff, and which would result in the animal either being culled or removed from the study to recover.
To define an Ethical Endpoint, click on the Edit icon 
, as shown below.
In the example given below, you can specify the maximum weight loss or gain the animal should experience, beyond which the endpoint threshold will be exceeded and the animal should be culled or removed from study. As shown below, you may also define warning thresholds, which may indicate early intervention is needed to retain the animal in the study or may suggest more detailed observation is required.
You can also set endpoints for tumour length, width or volume, as illustrated below.
How Ethical Endpoints are notified
Endpoints are checked when you input results against the study tasks or create adhoc experiment results.
- Status – no ethical endpoint triggered
The green tick icon indicates the result is within defined thresholds.
- Status – warning – ethical endpoint is approaching maximum tolerance
When you see a study result with this ethical endpoint status, you should check to ensure the protocol for an endpoint that is nearing the maximum threshold has been actioned for this animal.
- Status – danger – ethical endpoint has been reached – action required
When you see a study result with this ethical endpoint status, you should check to ensure the protocol for breaching endpoints has been actioned for this animal.