Computer programs for calculation of median effective dose (LD50 or ED50) using the method of moving average interpolation.

Over the past 40 years, toxicologists and pharmacologists have used tables published by Weil for the determination of LD50 (or ED50) values and their associated 95% confidence intervals. With the advances in computer technology, it is now common for investigators to have personal computers in their laboratories. Therefore, two identical programs were developed for determination of the LD50 (or ED50) which may be run on a personal computer. One of these programs was written in BASIC, and the other in FORTRAN. The programs are easy and rapid to use, requiring minimum computer hardware and little, if any, knowledge of programming. They also offer more user flexibility than the previously published tables of Weil, in that there are fewer restrictions on the number of animals and number of dosage levels used in an experiment. The output of the programs may be typed on the screen of a computer monitor, and may be sent to a printer. The two programs calculate the LD50 and 95% confidence intervals for the LD50. These programs should be valuable for many investigators.