IChMASCOT is a Windows-based software, which is a flexible and user-friendly program for global fitting of ion channel kinetics based on Markov models. The global fit uses experimental data obtained under different conditions to get a set of rate constants that describes the entire experimental data set simultaneously. IChMASCOT can use macroscopic data such as time dependence of the current in response to a voltage and/or ligand stimuli, the steady state properties and time constants. Ionic currents for several permanent ions and gating currents can also be included in the global fit.

IChMASCOT perform the simulations using the math libraries provided by the program IChSimLab, in this program the simulation can be performed using numerical integration or the “Q-Matrix” method.

The goal of the IChMASCOT is to get the optimal set of rate constants that best describe the experimental data for a given Markov model.  This job is performed by an algorithm that minimizes the difference between the experimental data and the model. The expression used for the minimization is: