Patent ID: 8219324

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of determining a point at the end of a baseline region of a growth curve, comprising the steps, implemented in a computer system having a processor, of: receiving a dataset representing a growth curve for a kinetic Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) process, said dataset including a plurality of data points each having a pair of coordinate values; numerically determining second derivative values for data points along the growth curve; determining a maximum value of the determined second derivative values; calculating an approximation of a curve that fits the determined second derivative values by applying a regression process to a Gaussian Mixture Model function to determine one or more parameters of the function, wherein said parameters include initial conditions, and wherein the maximum value is used as an initial condition for a first parameter; and outputting the first parameter, wherein the first parameter represents the end of the baseline region of the growth curve, and wherein the point at the end of the baseline region represents an elbow or cycle threshold (Ct) value of the growth curve.