CLONOTYPES AS BIOMETRIC SPECIMEN TAGS

摘要

The invention is directed to methods for biometrically identifying or distinguishing biological specimens, such as patient specimens, as being from the same or different individuals by analysis of specimen clonotypes. The invention provides a direct or backup method for determining or confirming specimen identities. In one aspect, a method of the invention includes generating a first clonotype profile from a first specimen and forming therefrom an identifier set of clonotypes, which serves as a molecular fingerprint of the first specimen. Other specimens are determined to be from the same source individual or from a different source individual by generating clonotype profiles from such specimens and determining the presence or absence in such profiles of clonotypes of the identifier set of the first specimen.