OWAVEC:: a combination of wavelet analysis and an orthogonalization algorithm as a pre-processing step in multivariate calibration

In an spectroscopic context, when a calibration model based on partial least squares is developed to predict a response, it is often the case that a high percentage of variation in the data explained by the first latent variable is not accompanied by an equally high percentage of variation in the studied response. The addition of more components can slowly improve the calibration model, but with negative effects on the robustness and interpretability of the final model. To solve this problem, several pre-processing methods have been proposed to remove only a portion unrelated to the studied response from the spectral matrix. Moreover, the need for efficient compression methods is increasingly important due to the large size of the data currently collected. In this sense, discrete wavelet transform has proven that it can achieve good compression without losing relevant information when used on individual signals. This paper introduces a new pre-processing method, orthogonal wavelet correction (OWAVEC) that tries to lump together two important needs in multivariate calibration: signal correction and compression. The new method has been tested on a set of diesel fuels using viscosity as variable response, and its results have been compared not only with those obtained from original data but also with those provided by other correction methods. The first practical results are encouraging, as the method generates considerably better calibration models compared to the model developed from raw data and provides results as least so good as other orthogonal -correction methods. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.