ABSTRACT
Continuous models use the quantitative information from an electropherogram (epg), such as peak heights, to calculate the probability of the profile given all possible genotype combinations. A value, sometimes described as a weight, is assigned to the probability of observing the profile given the proposed genotype combination.
Continuous methods make assumptions about the underlying behavior of peak heights to evaluate the probability of a set of peak heights. They use more information from within the profile than binary and semicontinuous models and reduce the requirement for the subjective manual assignment of peaks as allelic within evidence profiles.
Within this chapter, we describe the theory of how probabilistic genotyping software employing continuous models work, specifically focusing on the models within the software STRmix. We describe how the outputs are used within the LR calculation by way of examples.
