Semiparametric approach to match probability calculations using single locus probes.

A semiparametric approach to match probability calculations using single locus probes has been developed and compared graphically with other standard methods by a one-sample simulation. The density functions obtained using this method are closer to the real distributions than those obtained by conventional approaches. Our method does not need to establish an arbitrary match threshold, which has been a source of problems in practical applications of standard methods. Moreover, it can be adjusted to any particular conditions by setting the experimental error and correlation of each laboratory. To assess the practical performance of this method we carried out a comparison experiment using a sample of 229 individuals analysed in duplicate.