Optimal use of small sample sizes

Pediatric settings for clinical chemistry assays enable clinicians to obtain a full result profile from the small samples available in neonates as well as geriatric patients

Olympus Life and Material Science Europa Diagnostics announces the launch of new pediatric settings for its clinical chemistry assays.

This move is in response to the growing problem of obtaining enough sample for wide spectrum testing from not only newborns and children, but also, for example, geriatric and cancer patients.

The new settings are for the complete range of Olympus analysers - the AU400, AU600/AU640 and AU2700/AU5400.

The new pediatric settings are designed to enable clinicians to obtain a full result profile first time round rather than having to prioritise because of the low available sample thereby reducing unnecessary and stressful sampling in newborn or child.

In addition the primary wavelength of T-bilirubin has been changed from 540 to 570nm to reduce haemolytic interference and thus enabling superior detection of hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.

Being able to obtain only small samples is not just a problem in pediatrics.

The increasing number of geriatric patients entering healthcare systems presents similar difficulties.

Shrunken and broken veins are common.

Similarly, chemotherapy patients have large numbers of puncture sites.

"We therefore see there being wide potential for using these low volume settings by customers and thus both increasing test profiling capabilities and reducing patient distress," says Christoph Mauracher.

The range includes 22 analytes - albumin, ALP (2), ALT, AST, bicarbonate, bilirubin direct, bilirubin total, calcium (2), creatinine, C3, C4, GGT, glucose, IgM, iron, LDH (2), transferrin, triglyceride, and urea.

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