The method was developed in 1997 by Solinas-Toldo et al. at the DKFZ in Heidelberg. It can be used on routinely fixed tissue and is suitable for the identification and characterization of chromosomal aberrations.
Array CGH is a further development of comparative genome hybridization (conventional CGH) and enables the detection of losses and gains in genomic DNA. A comparative genomic hybridization is performed on 2 DNA samples labeled with different fluorochromes. The ratio of fluorescence signals of patient and reference DNA is determined. This comparative hybridization allows the detection of very small, submicroscopic changes (deletions, duplications) in the patient and, by using special software programs, the changes in the genes involved can be identified.