Apparatus and method for analysing chemical samples
OwnerBenjamin D. Cobbinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Data sets (11) characterising a chemical sample under analysis, eg. molecular weight distributions of nucleic acid mixtures in PCR obtained by measuring the temperature dependence of the fluorescence of conductivity of the mixture, are transformed by computer into a virtual gel image (16) to aid interpretation and comparison with conventional electrophoresis or chromatography gels.
Claims17
An apparatus for the analysis of a nucleic acid sample comprising
- a measurement means that is arranged to measure a parameter that is indicative of the melting of nucleic acids in the sample to provide a data set signal that has one or more maxima, minima or shoulders in an ordinate of the data over the range of an abscissa, or a data set which may be transformed into such a data set, and
- an imaging means that converts the data set signal into an image signal that represents a visual display in which said maxima, minima or shoulders are represented by respective generally parallel lines, or bars, that are located along an axis in the visual display at positions corresponding to their locations along said abscissa and that are oriented generally perpendicular to that axis.
An apparatus for the analysis of a data set signal representing measurements of a parameter that is indicative of the melting of nucleic acids in a sample that has one or more maxima, minima or shoulders in an ordinate of the date over the range of an abscissa, or a data set which may be transformed into such a data set, comprising
- an imaging means that converts the date set signal into an image signal that represents a visual display in which said maxima, minima or shoulders are represented by respective generally parallel lines, or bars, that are located along an axis in the visual display at positions corresponding to their locations along said abscissa and that are oriented generally perpendicular to that axis.
A computer program product which causes a computer so to operate:
- that it takes as an input a data set signal representing measurements of a parameter of a nucleic acid sample that is indicative of the melting of nucleic acids in the sample that has one or more maxima, minima or shoulders in an ordinate of the data over the range of an abscissa, or a data set which may be transformed into such a-data set, and
- that it converts the data set signal into an image signal that represents a visual display in which said maxima, minima or shoulders are represented by respectively generally parallel lines, or bars, that are located along an axis in the visual display at positions corresponding to their locations along said abscissa and that are oriented generally perpendicular to that axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.