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US 10,504,614 B2Granted
Systems and methods for determining an unknown characteristic of a sample
AssigneesRutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Trustees of Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsCatherine M. Grgicak, Desmond S. Lun, Muriel Medard, Harish Swaminathan
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Abstract
Computerized analysis methods and systems to implement the computerized analysis methods are disclosed herein. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for determining an unknown characteristic of a sample.
Claims21
A method for determining a number of contributors to a DNA mixture, the method comprising:
- analyzing each of a plurality of calibration samples at a plurality of concentrations to generate a calibration sample profile corresponding to each of the plurality of calibration samples wherein each calibration sample profile comprises a plurality of allele peaks, and wherein each of the calibration samples is a biological sample comprising DNA that is obtained from a single contributor;
- generating, by a processor, for each of the plurality of calibration samples, calibration data from the corresponding calibration sample profile by modeling heights of the plurality of allele peaks, wherein the calibration data models one or more variables as a function of input DNA mass in the corresponding calibration sample;
- analyzing a test sample to generate a test sample profile, wherein the test sample is a biological sample comprising a DNA mixture from one or more contributors, and wherein the number of contributors is unknown;
- analyzing, by the processor, the calibration data and the test sample profile to generate a probability distribution of a number of contributors to the test sample for estimating the number of contributors to the DNA sample;
- and
- using the estimated number of contributors to determine whether an individual should be included as a contributor to the DNA mixture during forensic analysis, wherein:
- the plurality of calibration sample and the test sample are analyzed using the same laboratory device under the same test conditions.
4 more elements
A system for determining a number of contributors to a DNA mixture, the system comprising:
- a laboratory device configured to perform measurements under a set of test conditions;
- a processing device;
- and
- a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or more programing instructions which when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to:
- receive, from the laboratory device, a plurality of calibration profiles corresponding to a plurality of calibration samples, wherein each of the plurality of calibration profiles comprises a plurality of allele peaks and is generated by the laboratory device by analyzing corresponding calibration sample at a plurality of concentrations under the set of test conditions, and wherein each of the calibration samples is a biological sample comprising DNA that is obtained from a single contributor,
- generate, for each of the plurality of calibration samples, calibration data from the corresponding calibration sample profile by modeling heights of the plurality of allele peaks, wherein the calibration data models one or more variables as a function of input DNA mass in the corresponding calibration sample,
- receive, from the laboratory device, a test sample profile generated by analyzing the test sample under the set of test conditions, wherein the test sample is a biological sample comprising a DNA mixture from one or more contributors and wherein the number of contributors is unknown,
- analyze the calibration data and the test sample profile to generate a probability distribution of a number of contributors to the test sample for estimating the number of contributors to the DNA sample;
- and
- using the estimated number of contributors to determine whether an individual should be included as a contributor to the DNA mixture during forensic analysis.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.