Method and apparatus for biological sample analysis

Abstract

A method of adjusting amplification curves in a PCR experiment includes receiving a plurality of amplification curves for a sample and computing a first parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves. The method also includes computing a second parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves and computing a third parameter using at least a portion of the first or second parameters. The method further includes computing an offset for each of the plurality of amplification curves. The offset is a function of the first parameter and the third parameter. Moreover, the method includes adjusting at least one of the plurality of amplification curves by subtracting the offset.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for characterizing biological processes, the system comprising:
 an imaging system adapted to capture a series of images of a microfluidic device, wherein each of the plurality of images includes a plurality of sample chambers;   a processor adapted to:
 compute a plurality of amplification curves for each of the plurality of sample chambers; 
 compute a first parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves; 
 compute a second parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves; 
 compute a third parameter using at least a portion of the first or second parameters; 
 compute an offset for each of the plurality of amplification curves, the offset being a function of the first parameter and the third parameter; and 
 adjust at least one of the plurality of amplification curves by subtracting the offset; and 
   a memory adapted to store the plurality of adjusted amplification curves.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the biological processes comprise PCR. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the series of images comprises a series of fluorescent images.