The goal of this project is to develop a microcomputer assisted data management system for experimental animal resource programs. Approximately half of all biomedical research projects supported by NIH use animals. Animal resource programs of grantee institutions are required to process enormous volumes and variety of data to comply with scientific, regulatory, and financial requirements. With few exceptions, time/labor intensive manual systems of data management continue to be used. Recent revolutionary advancements in microcomputer technology provide an opportunity to employ powerful automated systems to manage data in ways that could be enormously beneficial to animal resource programs, the biomedical research community, and the NIH. Through synergistic collaboration of experts in animal resource management and computer technology, this project will develop a comprehensive package of microcomputer software programs designed to perform a large variety of data processing procedures required for efficient management of contemporary animal resources. System development will be performed using well established methods perfected by AMITEC INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS for automated data processing applied to hospitals, private medical practices, bookstores, and small business firms. The Experimental Animal Resources Program of the University of Alabama in Birmingham will provide direction of the project to focus on the specific needs of animal resource programs. Phase-I will emphasize global system design and implementation of two subsystems which will demonstrate the feasibility and technical merit of the project. During Phase-II the remaining subsystems will be developed and the entire system tested rigorously. Phase-III, supported entirely by private capital, will involve software production, marketing, sales and user support. Grant support for research and development during Phases-I and II is essential to assure commercial feasibility of software production for a highly restricted, limited market at a cost which will encourage wide application of this powerful technology.