Optimal pooling designs with error detection

Abstract

Consider a collection of objects, some of which may be `bad', and a test which determines whether or not a given sub-collection contains no bad objects. The non-adaptive pooling (or group testing) problem involves identifying the bad objects using the least number of tests applied in parallel. The `hypergeometric' case occurs when an upper bound on the number of bad objects is known {\em a priori}. Here, practical considerations lead us to impose the additional requirement of {\em a posteriori} confirmation that the bound is satisfied. A generalization of the problem in which occasional errors in the test outcomes can occur is also considered. Optimal solutions to the general problem are shown to be equivalent to maximum-size collections of subsets of a finite set satisfying a union condition which generalizes that considered by Erd\"os \etal \cite{erd}. Lower bounds on the number of tests required are derived when the number of bad objects is believed to be either 1 or 2. Steiner systems are shown to be optimal solutions in some cases.