Randox QC Resource Hub
Randox QC Resource Hub
Linearity Verifier Sets
Challenge your Instrument Throughout the Reportable Range with Acusera Linearity Verifier Sets
- Complimentary data reduction software is provided delivering an immediate indication of performance.
- Samples are provided in a user-friendly format with both liquid and lyophilised options available.
- An extended open vial stability keeps waste to a minimum and ensures availability of product for troubleshooting.
- Supplied in a minimum of 5 levels to accurately challenge the AMR and remove the need for manual dilution.
- Ensure specific instrument requirements are met with the availability of dedicated solution for both Roche Cobas and Beckman systems.
- Multi-analyte calibration verifiers will reduce costs, storage space and the number of products required to cover your test menu.
Calibration verification or linearity assessment is defined as the testing of materials of known concentration in the same manner as patient specimens to ensue the test system is accurately measuring samples throughout the reportable range.
CLIA recommend calibration verification once every six months and/or in the event of; a reagent lot change, major preventative maintenance, replacement of critical parts, when QC materials are outside acceptable limits or reflect an unusual trend and as part of new instrument validation.
Our Acusera range of instrument dedicated verifiers are designed to challenge the entire analytical measuring range whilst helping to meet the CLIA requirements. Our range covers Clinical Chemistry, Bilirubin, Apolipoproteins, Enzymes, CRP, Esoterics, Lipids, TDM‘s and more.
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Interlaboratory Data Management – July 2019
Acusera 24•7 Live Online is an interlaboratory data management and peer group reporting package complementing the Acusera range of true third party quality controls. Designed to assist in the management of daily QC activities, Acusera 24•7 Live Online will help to meet regulatory requirements, improve error detection, reduce false rejections and ensure accurate patient results.
Delivering an online platform for effective QC data management, our software provides unique access to instantly updated real-time peer group data, automatically generated QC statistics, QC multi-rules, interactive charts and comprehensive reports.
‘The laboratory shall have a procedure to prevent the release of patient results in the event of quality control failure. When the quality control rules are violated and indicate that examination results are likely to contain significant errors the results shall be rejected… Quality Control data shall be reviewed at regular intervals to detect trends in examination performance’.
ISO 15189:2012
Why implement an interlaboratory program?
Acusera 24•7 Live Online is an essential QC tool for laboratories of all sizes. By participating and implementing our software your laboratory will be able to do the following;
- Quickly identify trends, system errors and reagent issues, minimising expensive repeat tests
- Automatically calculate Measurement Uncertainty, Total Error and Sigma Metrics
- Bridge the gap between daily quality control and external quality assessment
- Improve EQA performance by eliminating any undetected bias
- Facilitate regulatory compliance
- Minimise false rejections through the use of QC multi-rules
- Increase confidence in assigned QC target values
- Speed up troubleshooting processes, shortening delays in reporting
Acusera 24•7 key features and benefits
Peer group statistics are now uniquely updated live in real-time ensuring immediate access to the most up to date information available while ultimately reducing time and money spent troubleshooting, re-running samples and performing instrument maintenance. Peer groups may be based on worldwide statistics or an affiliate group of laboratories meaning you can instantly discover how you compare to other laboratories using the same lot of QC and identify if issues are unique to your laboratory or a widespread problem.
Available at no extra cost the unique dashboard allows instant identification of any QC failures and from the last seven days. Designed to significantly reduce the time spent analysing data, this highly convenient and user-friendly function means corrective action can be taken immediately with minimum disruption to the laboratory’s output. Alerts are also provided when a control lot is reaching expiry, reducing the risk of using expired material.
Levey-Jennings, Histogram and Performance Summary Charts are generated on demand, delivering quick and easy performance monitoring. With Acusera 24•7 Live Online, users have the ability to add multiple instruments, parameters and lots to a single chart allowing comparative performance assessment and immediate visualisation of any ongoing or emerging trends.
The user-friendly interface and interactive nature of the chart allows you to view data for a specific date range, zoom in on a specific data point, comment on individual data points and record events including calibration and reagent lot changes for enhanced review of trends.
Our software now automatically calculates %Bias, Total Error and Sigma metrics, enabling enhanced performance assessment and improved QC strategy design for your laboratory. The added benefit of Uncertainty of Measurement (UM) helps to meet ISO 15189 requirements. In addition results may be rejected or alerted based on QC multi-rules or user defined performance limits including Rilibak, CLIA and biological variation.
The Acusera Advisor tool will conveniently recommend a set of QC multi-rules and a minimum QC frequency for each assay based on previous performance history. Tailoring QC multi-rules to each assay in this way will make QC processes more efficient whilst ensuring high error detection rates.
Designed to help speed up the review process a range of comprehensive reports are available including, Statistical Metrics Reports, Uncertainty of Measurement Report, Exception Report, and the Audit Trail Report which provides a secure, electronic record of the creation, modification and deletion of data. This effective method of documenting the review process can help laboratories meet regulatory requirements and gain accreditation.
Evaluate and review any poor performing QC tests
The Data Review report displays data for all QC tests which have fallen outside your laboratory’s user-defined performance limits. Data may be filtered by date, instrument, lot number or rule violation. It may also be filtered to display only alerted/rejected results. The report can be exported or printed easily, to document the review process.
As always, results are colour-coded for added convenience. Once results have been evaluated, managers can record their actions by marking each result as ‘reviewed’. A ‘reviewed’ result will no longer appear on the Dashboard.
Our fully automated connectivity solution is designed to meet the needs of all laboratory types and sizes. QC data can be quickly and efficiently imported from LIMS to Acusera 24•7 Live Online without the need to import files or manually enter data.
- Reduce workload by eliminating issues associated with manual data entry
- Increases productivity and efficiency
- Captures and imports only QC data
- Secure real-time connection without disruption to the laboratory
- The software is also capable of bi-directional communication with LIMS
Linearity Verifier Sets
Acusera Linearity Verifier Sets are designed to challenge a larger section of an instruments reportable range and test if a system’s calibration is still valid. Our linearity materials cover a wide range of testing including, CRP, RF, Lipids, Therapeutic Drugs, Esoterics and more. Designed with user convenience in mind, all our linearity sets are supplied in a liquid format and in varying levels. Our unique combination of analytes enables laboratories to reduce the number of individual products required while ultimately reducing costs and time.
Complimentary, cloud-based data reduction software is supplied with all linearity sets, providing a graphical representation of results for at-a-glance performance assessment. Access to instantly updated peer group data and automatically generated statistics also helps to speed up data review. To view more of our quality control products click here.
Linearity Verifier Sets | Key Features and Benefits
Click each icon for full features and benefits
Data Reduction Software
Liquid Samples
Consolidation
Clinically Relevant Levels
Instrument Dedicated
Stability
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Make an Enquiry about Linearity Verifier Sets or Download our brochure:
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Tackling Worldwide Drugs of Abuse
Throughout November, we’ve been highlighting how the Randox clinical teams – Randox Rx series, Randox Reagents and Randox QC – are aiding the fight against drugs of abuse.
Drugs of Abuse are a growing problem worldwide and represent a significant burden to healthcare systems as well as creating problems in an individual’s lifestyle. It has been estimated by the WHO (World Health Organisation) that 31 million people globally suffer from drug use disorders and 3.3 million deaths each year are linked to the abuse of both drugs and alcohol.
The abuse of drugs is one of the most pressing issues in the United States of America. Drug abuse not only affects the individual, but also can have far-reaching consequences that affect family, employment, personal health, health care systems, local communities, and society as a whole.
- Misuse of illicit drugs affects society through secondary costs incurred such as crime, reduced productivity at work, and health care expenses.
- Substance abuse costs the US health care system about $11 billion, with overall costs reaching $193 billion.
- Substance abuse and addiction also affects other areas of life and can cause broken families, destroyed careers, death due to negligence or accident, domestic violence, physical abuse and child abuse.
- Drug abuse and addiction changes the chemistry of your brain. The longer you use your drug of choice, the more damage is caused and it becomes more difficult to return to ‘normal’ during drug rehabilitation.
- In 2013, 22.7 million Americans needed treatment for a substance use disorder – almost 9% of the population over the age of 12. Only about 2.5 million received treatment as a specialist facility with 20% of admissions for opiate addication treatment and 17% for the treatment of marijuana abuse.
To find out more about how Randox is helping in the fight against Drugs of Abuse, please visit https://www.randox.com/drugs-of-abuse/ or for more information about Randox RX, Randox Reagents or Randox QC, please email marketing@randox.com.
November focus: Drugs of Abuse
Throughout November, the Randox clinical teams – Randox Reagents, Randox Rx series and Randox QC – will be highlighting how the Randox product range can be utilised to allow for the most accurate analysis of Drugs of Abuse, with a particular focus placed with the Evidence MultiSTAT. The Evidence MultiSTAT is a fast, fully automated and versatile immunoanalyser that enables on-site detection of up to 21 Drugs of Abuse from a single sample of oral fluid, urine or blood.
Drugs of Abuse are a growing problem worldwide and represent a significant burden to healthcare systems as well as creating problems in an individual’s lifestyle. It has been estimated by the WHO (World Health Organisation) that 31 million people globally suffer from drug use disorders and 3.3 million deaths each year are linked to the abuse of both drugs and alcohol.
Randox have reacted to this growing concern and are now a world leader in the Drugs of Abuse testing field. Our product range currently comprises classical, prescription and synthetic drugs.
The Evidence MultiSTAT offers a simple drug screening solution to those who have little or no knowledge of laboratory procedures. As an extremely versatile desktop analyser, it is ideally suited to a variety of settings including both the clinical laboratory and the emergency room.
Randox Reagents – Drugs of Abuse Assays
In order to assist in dealing with the ongoing burden of substance abuse, Randox Reagents offer a comprehensive range of ten assays to test for some of the top most commonly-abused substances including alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, methadone, cannabis, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, EDDP and ecstasy and opiates. The Randox Drugs of Abuse assays are liquid, ready-to-use for increased efficiency and applications are available for over 30 different analysers.
RX Series – Toxicology testing
Renowned for quality and reliability, the RX series range of clinical chemistry analysers boasts a world-leading test menu comprising of both therapeutic drugs and Drugs of Abuse. Our toxicology range comprises amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, cocaine metabolite, ecstasy, EDDP, ethanol, methadone and opiates. The RX series range of clinical chemistry analysers ensures a high degree of accuracy with a wide range of testing throughputs to suit all laboratories, big or small.
RIQAS Urine Toxicology Programme
Designed to monitor the performance of 20 Drugs of Abuse tests in urine, our RIQAS urine toxicology EQA program is suitable for both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. As the largest EQA scheme in the world, access to large peer groups is guaranteed. Additional benefits include; monthly analysis, user-friendly reports allowing at-a-glance performance assessment, ability to register up to five instruments per programme and cost savings via our unrivalled consolidation.
For more information about Randox RX, Randox Reagents or Randox QC, please email marketing@randox.com.
Randox QC International Resource Hub
Metabolism: how Randox is helping to diagnose metabolic conditions
Many people talk about their metabolism as if it is a muscle or organ they can somehow control. In reality, your metabolism refers to a series of chemical processes in each cell that turn the calories you eat into fuel to keep you alive.
Metabolism is the biochemical process of combining nutrients with oxygen to release the energy our bodies need to function. Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body burns to maintain vital body functions such as heart rate, brain function and breathing. RMR accounts for up to 75 percent of the calories you burn each day. Knowledge of your individual RMR is a critical piece of information to appropriately establish daily calorie needs.
The body’s major organs — the brain, liver, kidneys, and heart — account for about half of the energy burned at rest, while fat, the digestive system, and especially the body’s muscles account for the rest.
Did you know?
Approximately 20-25% of the world’s adult population have metabolic syndrome?
A common misconception surrounding metabolic health is that it refers solely to your weight, and if you are overweight you are considered to be unhealthy. But in actual fact this may not be entirely true. Good metabolism means that your body is in good overall health, which doesn’t account for just your weight! Common metabolic disorders include genetic metabolic disorders, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Understanding and testing to see how well your metabolism is functioning is key to ensuring long lasting health.
Genetics
There are a number of genetic metabolic disorders caused by mutations of single genes. Examples of common disordersinclude Gaucher’s disease, hemochromatosis and cystic fibrosis. Gaucher’s disease is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to break down fat that can accumulate in the liver/spleen and bone marrow. Hemochromatosis is a condition that is caused by the over-absorption and build-up of iron while cystic fibrosis is a metabolic disorder that appears as a result of a build-up of mucus in lungs/liver and intestines. Each of these metabolic disorders affect certain organs from functioning properly and therefore your overall healthiness.
Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common types of metabolic disorders in the world that is expected to affect 592 million people by 2035. It is characterised by high blood sugar, insulin resistance or a lack of insulin being produced by the pancreas. Insulin resistance occurs when the body isn’t able to use insulin the right way which increases blood glucose levels. Insulin is needed for cells to take in glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream and convert it into energy. Over time this lack of insulin can damage the organs in your body.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome (also known as syndrome X, Reaven’s syndrome, and CHAOS) is not a disease but a collection of risk factors that affect your health; these include high blood pressure, high blood sugar/cholesterol and abdominal fat. Left untreated, these risk factors, together, can lead to long term serious problems including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and developing type 2 diabetes.
Can you improve your metabolic health?
Yes! The good news is that if you discover that your metabolic health is not up to scratch you can improve it through a combination of diet, exercise and lifestyle adjustments such as:
- 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise 5-7 times a week
- Low-dose aspirin to reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack
- Quit smoking
- Medication for blood pressure/cholesterol/ blood sugar
- Limit alcohol intake
- Eat a healthy balanced diet
Related Products
Randox has developed the RX series of clinical chemistry analysers for superior semi-automated and fully automated testing. The RX series extensive dedicated test menu goes beyond routine testing and has many unique and high-performance tests available. Our range of tests covers several parameters to assess your overall metabolic health.
Metabolic Health Profile
| Albumin | Chloride | Potassium |
| Alkaline Phosphatase | C02 Total | Sodium |
| ALT | Creatinine | Total Bilirubin |
| AST (GOT) | Glucose | Total Protein |
| Direct Bilirubin | Lactate | Urea |
| Calcium |
The RX series clinical chemistry analysers provide laboratories with a robust and smart solution ensuring you maintain a consistent workflow and can provide accurate results first time, every time. Offering excellent customer support services, our trained engineers are on hand to work with you in preserving the continuity of your operations while maximising the potential of your RX series instrument.Our world-famous test menu of high quality reagents ensures excellence in patient care, guaranteeing unrivalled precision and accuracy reducing costly test re-runs or misdiagnosis and offering complete confidence in results.
For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/
Randox Quality Control Celebrate British Science Week 2018!
This British Science Week 2018, Randox Quality Control are celebrating the hard work our team puts in every day, to help bring the best Quality Control products to the market.
We caught up with Edward Hill, QC Product Specialist, to explain a bit about what his role involves and how Randox QC are impacting on global healthcare!
What is your position and what does it involve?
I am a QC Product Specialist at Randox Laboratories. This is a hugely varied role, and some of my general duties involve; creating educational material for laboratory professionals, conducting competitor comparisons to ensure we are always one step ahead of the competition, staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and thinking of new and innovative ways to interact with our customer-base.
For those of us who aren’t in the industry, can you give us a brief snapshot of what Quality Control is and why we use it?
When a patient has their blood/urine/serum etc. taken, it must be sent to the laboratory for analysis. Laboratory professionals run the patient sample on a clinical instrument, which gives a quantitative result for each analyte. However, the laboratory professional does not know whether the value given by the instrument is correct or not. For this reason, the laboratory professional must use a Quality Control – which is a material designed to mimic the patient sample, and has a known concentration of each analyte.
When the laboratory professional runs the QC material on their instrument, they can compare the obtained result with the expected result. If these values are comparable, then the laboratory professional can be confident that their instrument is reporting accurately. Essentially, QC is a ‘practice run’ to ensure the testing system is working correctly.
How does your teams’ work impact on global healthcare?
Quality Control is a hugely important part of laboratory quality. Around 70% of clinical decisions are made based on laboratory results, so it is plain to see how significant Quality Control practices can be in relation to global health care. My work, as well as the work of the wider Quality Control team, is focused on making end-users aware of the importance of Quality Control. We aim to provide advice and recommendations to optimise accuracy and efficiency.
As a company, Randox prioritizes quality above all else, and this ethos is perfectly reflected by the Quality Control team. We work tirelessly to provide quality products and simplify the entire testing process – giving the laboratory professionals more time to do what they do best; provide accurate results time and time again.
What is your favourite Randox QC product and why?
My favourite QC product is the Acusera Liquid Cardiac Control. It’s my favourite control because it perfectly displays all the advantages of Acusera in a single product:
- Highly consolidated analyte list without any unnecessary extras, keeping costs low
- True third party
- Manufactured with 100% human serum, giving full commutability
- Liquid ready-to-use and suitable for POC testing
- Clinically relevant ranges, with ultra-low levels of Troponin I
- Long open vial stability of 30 days
Competitors often offer additional low level Troponin I controls. The thing I like most about the Acusera Liquid Cardiac Control is that the Troponin I levels are still lower than the ‘ultra-low level’ competitor controls – showing that Acusera gets it right the first time, rather than supplementing weak QC products with additional products at an extra cost.
Listen to our 24.7 podcast with QC Product Specialist, Edward Hill.
Find out more about British Science Week 2018.
If you would like further information on our Quality Control Products, contact acusera@randox.com.
Liquid ready-to-use controls & their benefits
Randox Quality Control is a world leading manufacturer of third party quality controls. With an extensive product portfolio – including the largest range of liquid ready-to-use controls, Randox QC will meet your laboratory requirements and deliver trustworthy results repeatedly.
What control formats are available for your laboratory?
There are three distinct formats available for use in the laboratory with each format having benefits and drawbacks. When choosing a Quality Control material it is important you choose the most convenient solution for your laboratory requirements. The three formats are;
- Lyophilised (freeze dried)
- Liquid frozen
- Liquid stable (ready-to-use)
What format is best?
There are several possible answers to this question, simply because, every laboratory is different. What works for one laboratory may not work for another and for this reason there is no one format that works best for all laboratories.
What we can say however, is that there are varying levels of convenience across the different formats. The most convenient, and arguably, the most favoured of the three formats is liquid ready-to-use. It is not difficult to understand why this format is widely regarded as the preferred choice of control in laboratories – they are simple to use, require no preparation and can be conveniently stored and shipped at 2-8oC.
Why should you consider a liquid ready-to-use control?
There are many benefits to using a liquid ready-to-use control over both liquid frozen and lyophilised controls. One of the main benefits of a liquid stable control material is that it eliminates any potential reconstitution/pipetting errors often associated with lyophilised controls. They also eliminate the additional time taken to thaw liquid frozen controls and can significantly reduce shipping/delivery costs as they do not need to be shipped on dry ice.
Another major benefit of running a liquid ready-to-use control is the fact they are also suitable for use in Point-of-Care-Testing (POCT). With growing popularity amongst laboratory professionals and more people expecting rapid results, POCT is on the rise. Due to their easy to use nature, liquid ready-to-use controls are extremely beneficial to POCT providers.
One further benefit to using a liquid ready-to-use control is the longer open vial stability when compared to both lyophilised and liquid frozen controls. With many lyophilised and liquid frozen controls, the open vial stability can vary and generally is around 7 days when fully thawed or reconstituted in comparison to 28 days with a liquid ready-to-use control.
Randox Quality Control – Liquid Ready-to-Use Control Portfolio
The Randox QC portfolio – better known as Acusera – is convenient, hassle-free and cost effective. Our liquid ready-to-use control range includes; Liquid Cardiac, Blood Gas, Liquid Urine, Urinalysis, Specific Protein, Ammonia Ethanol, Haematology, Liquid HbA1c, Liquid CSF & Liquid Tumour Markers.
For further information on Randox Quality Control or our range of liquid ready-to-use controls please email us at acusera@randox.com.