14  Multiple samples

14.1 Overview

In the preceding chapters, we have focused on spatial transcriptomics datasets consisting of a single tissue section, which we refer to as a sample.

Datasets consisting of multiple samples from one or more biological conditions are used to study a variety of biological questions, such as characterizing biological variability within replicate tissue samples, or differential comparisons between biological conditions.

These datasets require additional analysis methods that can make full use of the information contained in multiple samples in a computationally efficient and statistically rigorous manner.