Identification of outliers among chemical assays

Abstract

An apparatus for identifying outliers among chemical reaction assays, the apparatus comprising a transition point finder, configured to find at least one transition point in a cumulative function, the cumulative function giving a quantitative indication based on a count of points in a calculated space as a function of distance from a function dividing the calculated space into at least two groups, each one of the points representing results of a respective assay of a chemical reaction. The apparatus further comprises an outlier identifier, in communication with the transition point finder, configured to use a distance of the found transition point from the function dividing the calculated space, as a threshold, for identifying an outlier among the chemical reaction assays.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for identifying outliers among chemical reaction assays, the apparatus comprising:
 a programmed computer;   a transition point finder, implemented on the computer and configured to find at least one transition point in a cumulative function, the cumulative function being based on a count of points in a space calculated using dimensional reduction, as a function of distance of the points from a function dividing the calculated space into at least two groups, each one of the points representing results of a respective assay of a chemical reaction; and   an outlier identifier, in communication with said transition point finder, configured to use a distance of the found transition point from the function dividing the calculated space, as a threshold, for identifying an outlier among the chemical reaction assays.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a cumulative function calculator, in communication with said transition point finder, configured to calculate the cumulative function. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cumulative function gives a number of points in the calculated space as a function of the distance of the points from the function dividing the calculated space. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cumulative function gives a density of points in the calculated space as a function of the distance of the points from the function dividing the calculated space. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cumulative function is specific to one of the groups. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cumulative function is common to at least two of the groups. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the function dividing the calculated space is a polynomial function. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the calculated space is a space enhancing proximity among points representing assays of qualitatively identical chemical reactions. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a result receiver, configured to receive a plurality of sets of results, each one of the received sets of results pertaining to a respective assay of a chemical reaction, and a space calculator, configured to calculate the space, using the received sets of results. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a space calculator, configured to calculate the space, using diffusion mapping. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a dividing function calculator, configured to calculate the function dividing the calculated space. 
     
     
         12 . A computer implemented method for identifying outliers among chemical reaction assays, the method comprising steps the computer is programmed to perform, the steps comprising:
 by a programmed computer, finding at least one transition point in a cumulative function, the cumulative function being based on a count of points in a space calculated using dimensional reduction, as a function of distance of the points from a function dividing the calculated space into at least two groups, each one of the points representing results of a respective assay of a chemical reaction; and   using a distance of the found transition point from the function dividing the calculated space, as a threshold, for identifying an outlier among the chemical reaction assays.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cumulative function gives a number of points in the calculated space as a function of the distance of the points from the function dividing the calculated space. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cumulative function gives a density of points in the calculated space as a function of the distance of the points from the function dividing the calculated space. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cumulative function is specific to one of the groups. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cumulative function is common to at least two of the groups. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising a step of receiving a plurality of sets of results, each one of the received sets of results pertaining to a respective assay of a chemical reaction, and calculating the space, using the received sets of results. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising a step of calculating the space, using diffusion mapping. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for performing steps of identifying outliers among chemical reaction assays, the steps comprising:
 finding at least one transition point in a cumulative function, the cumulative function being based on a count of points in a space calculated using dimensional reduction, as a function of distance of the points from a function dividing the calculated space into at least two groups, each one of the points representing results of a respective assay of a chemical reaction; and   using a distance of the found transition point from the function dividing the calculated space, as a threshold, for identifying an outlier among the chemical reaction assays.   
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the steps further comprise a step of calculating the cumulative function.