Method and apparatus for non-destructive screening of specimen integrity
First Claim
1. A method for rejecting a sample contained in a sample container from further clinical assay based on determining the concentration of at least one interferent in the sample, the method comprising the steps of:
- positioning the sample container in a spectrophotometer such that the sample can be irradiated by the spectrophotometer;
irradiating the sample with at least one frequency of radiation;
correlating absorbance of the radiation by the sample with a standard for the interferent(s) to determine the concentration of the interferent(s); and
rejecting the sample if the concentration of the interferent(s) exceeds a predetermined criteria.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing a non-destructive pre-test screen of specimen integrity for a blood analyzer by measurement of absorbance or reflectance is provided. The method involves measurement of polychromatic light in the near infrared and adjacent visible region, which is either transmitted or reflected from a specimen as presented for measurement, and correlation of the measurement, on the basis of predetermined algorithms, to the quantity of a known substance contained in the sample. The apparatus employs a spectrophotometer which emits radiation which is split into a beam which passes to a sample and a reference beam, the beam returning from the sample and the reference beam are variably combined and further separated into various components by means of a grating and focused onto a linear array detector. A microprocessor receives output from the array detector and performs calculations of concentration(s) of the known substance(s). The invention provides quality assurance for state-of-the art blood analyzers and automated laboratories by pre-screening serum and plasma integrity, even where labels on the sample container would normally interfere with a quality assurance assessment, identifying samples not suitable for certain blood tests, or, if tests are conducted on specimens with compromised integrity, the pre-screening results will aid in the interpretation of the test results.
69 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for rejecting a sample contained in a sample container from further clinical assay based on determining the concentration of at least one interferent in the sample, the method comprising the steps of:
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positioning the sample container in a spectrophotometer such that the sample can be irradiated by the spectrophotometer;
irradiating the sample with at least one frequency of radiation;
correlating absorbance of the radiation by the sample with a standard for the interferent(s) to determine the concentration of the interferent(s); and
rejecting the sample if the concentration of the interferent(s) exceeds a predetermined criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for rejecting a plasma sample contained in a sample container from further clinical assay based on determining the concentration of at least one interferent in the sample, the method comprising the steps of:
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positioning the sample container in a spectrophotometer such that the plasma sample can be irradiated by the spectrophotometer;
irradiating the plasma sample with at least one frequency of radiation;
correlating absorbance of the radiation by the plasma sample with a standard for the interferent(s) to determine the concentration of the interferent(s) including calculating the first derivatives of at least two portions of a spectrum generated from a scan for a particular interferent which are used in an algorithm in respect of the interferent(s) to calculate the particular interferent(s) concentration(s); and
said algorithm(s) in respect of haemoglobin, bilirubin and intralipids are, respectively;
- View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method for rejecting a sample contained in a sample container from further clinical assay based on determining the concentration of at least one interferent in the sample, the method comprising the steps of:
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positioning the sample container in a spectrophotometer such that the sample can be irradiated by the spectrophotometer;
irradiating the sample with at least one frequency of radiation;
correlating reflectance of the radiation by the sample with a standard for the interferent(s) to determine the concentration of the interferent(s); and
rejecting the sample if the concentration of the interferent(s) exceeds a predetermined criteria. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification