Benchmark Dose Software

Additional Benchmark Dose Software (BMDS) Resources

On this page:

BMDS Quick Start Guide - a fast, hands-on introduction to using BMDS and the BMDS WizardExit. The Quick Start Guide's goals are to:
- Walk a new user through exercises that teach the mechanics of loading data into the programs.
- Specify options or parameters for a modeling run.
- Run the models.
- View and assess the results.
BMDS online training - videos with information on BMDS foundation topics and concepts, drawing primarily from the Benchmark Dose Technical Guidance referenced below.
BMDS User Manual - contains deeper and more technical reference information on BMDS concepts, models, user interface, etc. The BMDS User Manual is a PDF version of the BMDS online help included as part of the BMDS installation. You can find it in the BMDS application folder.
The Benchmark Dose Technical Guidance page provides a link to the guidance document that addresses the following topics:
- Computing the benchmark dose (BMDBMDAn exposure due to a dose of a substance associated with a specified low incidence of risk, generally in the range of 1% to 10%, of a health effect; or the dose associated with a specified measure or change of a biological effect.), benchmark concentration, and confidence limits.
- Data requirements.
- Dose-response analysis.
- Recommendations for reporting the results.
Create an e-Ticket requesting specific help on BMDS.

Additional resources are the Microsoft Excel-based BMDS Wizard Exit and DRAGON Exit software products developed by ICF International. The BMDS Wizard simplifies BMD modeling by providing a structured interface to maintain all inputs, outputs, and decisions made in the BMD modeling process. DRAGON facilitates managing a large database of experimental study information, including study selection, endpoint selection, dosimetry conversions, and BMD modeling results. The BMDS Wizard (and its PDF-based user reference guide) is included as part of the BMDS install package. The BMDS Quick Start Guide includes hands-on basic instruction for using the BMDS Wizard.

Another resource for dose-response modeling is the PROAST Exit software developed by the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). PROAST requires R or S-plus to run, but has some advantages over BMDS, including the ability to include covariatescovariateAn independent variable other than dose that may influence the outcome of an effect, e.g., age, body weight, or polymorphism. in an analysis. The USEPA and RIVM are working together to achieve consistency between the BMDS and PROAST software packages.