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Atera Experiment File Metadata and Versions

Atera Experiment File Metadata and Versions

The experiment.spatial file is an output from the Atera Onboard Analysis pipeline. The metadata fields in this file are described below, grouped by the fields pertaining to instrument run and panel configuration, analysis metrics, and output files.

FieldDescription
major_versionIndicates major version of analysis output file formats. Used by other software to check compatibility.
minor_versionIndicates minor version of analysis output file formats. Used by other software to check compatibility.
run_nameUser-specified analysis run name on instrument
run_start_timeInstrument run start time
slide_nameUser-specified slide name on instrument
slide_idUser-specified slide ID (optional) on instrument
region_nameUser-specified region name on instrument
slide_typeSlide type used on instrument
sample_typeUser-specified sample preservation method
panel_configSpecifies the name and ID of the panel configuration
panel_[...]For each panel in the panel configuration (possible fields: panel_WTA, panel_a, panel_c), specifies panel name, panel design ID, number of targets, organism, and tissue type
total_num_targetsTotal number of unique targets in the panel configuration
segmentation_stainThe segmentation stain method ("atera_cell_segmentation_stains_v1" or "atera_dapi_18s_only_v1")
chemistry_versionAssay chemistry specified by the panel_config.json file ("Atera v1")
pixel_sizePixel size in the morphology_3d/ch0000_dapi_3d.ome.tif image file (in µm)
z_step_sizeZ-step size (in µm) used for subsampling the morphology_3d/ch0000_dapi_3d.ome.tif image Z-stacks
instrument_snAtera Instrument serial number
instrument_sw_versionVersion of the Atera Instrument firmware used during analysis run
analysis_sw_versionVersion of Atera Onboard Analysis pipeline used to analyze data
analysis_uuidInstrument metadata
experiment_uuidInstrument metadata
cassette_uuidInstrument metadata
roi_uuidInstrument metadata
well_uuidInstrument metadata
calibration_uuidInstrument metadata
FieldDescription
num_cellsCells detected
transcripts_per_cellMedian transcripts per cell
genes_per_cellMedian genes per cell
nuclear_transcripts_per_100umNumber of high-quality, decoded-to-gene nuclear transcripts divided by the total segmented nuclear area
transcripts_per_100umTranscripts per 100 µm2
num_transcriptsTotal number of transcripts including low-quality transcripts
num_transcripts_high_qualityTotal high quality decoded transcripts (≥ Q20)
region_areaTotal area of imaged field of views (FOVs)
total_cell_areaSummed area of detected cells
thickness_of_high_quality_decoded_transcriptsWidth in Z of high-quality transcripts measured in microns
non_zero_matrix_entriesNumber of nonzero entries in the sparse CSC cell-feature matrix in the csc_cell_feature_matrix.zarr.zip file
fraction_transcripts_assignedPercent of high-quality transcripts that are found within cells
segmented_cell_stain_fracSum of segmented_cell_boundary_frac and segmented_cell_interior_frac
segmented_cell_boundary_fracFraction of cells where the cell segmentation boundary is derived from the boundary stain
segmented_cell_interior_fracFraction of cells where the boundary is from expansion of the nucleus using interior stain information
segmented_cell_nuc_expansion_fracFraction of cells where the boundary is an isotropic expansion from the nucleus boundary
segmented_nucleus_focus_fracFraction of nuclei that were segmented from focus images
segmented_nucleus_focus_countNumber of nuclei that were segmented from focus images
segmented_nucleus_zstack_fracFraction of nuclei that were segmented from Z-stack images
segmented_nucleus_zstack_countNumber of nuclei that were segmented from Z-stack images
cell_typesCell type annotation categories (coarse, fine)
FieldDescription
imagesSpecifies the file paths to the 3D and 2D morphology image files
explorer_filesSpecifies the file paths to cell, transcript, cell-feature matrix and secondary analysis, and analysis summary files

The major_version field in this file indicates when there are changes to Atera Onboard Analysis output file formats that affect forwards-compatibility with other software.

Updates to major_version are associated with new releases of the Atera Onboard Analysis software on the Atera Instrument. For example, this format version is used by 10x Explorer to determine input file compatibility across the 10x in situ software suite. This table summarizes when file format major versions were introduced by Atera Onboard Analysis software version.

Atera Onboard Analysis versionexperiment.spatial major version
v1.01.2