EXPFIT: a program for simultaneous analysis of families of exponential decay curves.

We have developed a program to facilitate the simultaneous analysis and weighted least-squares curve fitting of families of exponential decay curves, subject to appropriate constraints. The simultaneous analysis of all curves allows one to pool information from several subjects or experiments, and avoids the need for approximations inherent in normalizing or transforming data. Selected parameters of the model can be constrained, i.e. shared among several curves, or set to a constant value. Hypotheses about the system under study can be tested in an objective, statistically valid manner. A BASIC computer program for routine data analysis is presented, with an example of its application to illustrative data.