An open source platform for validation and process control. Tools to analyze data from internal validation of forensic short tandem repeat (STR) kits are provided. The tools are developed to provide the necessary data to conform with guidelines for internal validation issued by the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) DNA Working Group, and the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM). A front-end graphical user interface is provided. More information about each function can be found in the respective help documentation.
STR-validator is a free and open source R-package intended for process control and internal validation of forensic STR DNA typing kit. Its graphical user interface simplifies the analysis of data exported from e.g. GeneMapper software, without extensive knowledge about R. It provides functions to import, view, edit, and export data. After analysis the results, generated plots, heat-maps, and data can be saved in a project for easy access. Currently, analysis modules for stutter, balance, dropout, mixture, concordance, typing result, precision, pull-up, and analytical thresholds are available. In addition there are functions to analyse the GeneMapper bins- and panels files. EPG like plots can be generate from data. STR-validator can greatly increase the speed of validation by reducing the time and effort needed to analyse the validation data. It allows exploration of the characteristics of DNA typing kits according to ENFSI and SWGDAM recommendations. This facilitates the implementation of probabilistic interpretation of DNA results.
STR-validator was written and is maintained by Oskar Hansson, senior forensic scientist at Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Section for Forensic Genetics. The work initially received external funding from the European Union seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 285487 (EUROFORGEN-NoE) but development and maintenance is now performed as a part of my position at OUS, and on personal spare time.
More information can be found at: https://sites.google.com/site/forensicapps/strvalidator
Info and user community at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/STR-validator/240891279451450?ref=tn_tnmn https://www.facebook.com/groups/strvalidator/
The source code is hosted at GitHub: https://github.com/OskarHansson/strvalidator
Please report bugs to: https://github.com/OskarHansson/strvalidator/issues