OPSEG: a general routine for smoothing and interpolating discrete biological data

The optimal segments technique is a new approach to smoothing and interpolating between small numbers of discrete biological data. This method balances the degree of smoothness against the expected error of the observed data. The OPSEG computer program searches for the set of smoothed data points which will match the overall difference between the smoothed and observed data to an a priori estimate of the measurement error. The smoothed curve is described as a series of linked individual line segments. This approach is useful for the analysis of biological signals such as plasma measurements of hormone and metabolite concentration and has been applied to the development of assay standard curves.