Blood tests, automated

Detecting the presence of small, even invisible, amounts of blood is routine. Physical characteristics of dried stains give minimal information, however, as dried blood can take on many hues. Many of the chemical tests for the presence of blood rely on the catalytic peroxidase activity of heme (56,57). Minute quantities of blood catalyze oxidation reactions between colorless materials, eg, phenolphthalein, luco malachite green, luminol, etc, to colored or luminescent ones. The oxidant is typically hydrogen peroxide or sodium perborate (see Automated instrumentation,hematology). 

Commercial application of the dendrimer-based reagent technology has been demonstrated by the successful development of The Stratus CS STAT fluorometric analyzer [5] marketed by Dade Behring Inc. This rapid automated point of care immunoassay system provides quantitative analysis of whole blood or preprocessed plasma samples via unit use assay test packs. Up to four test packs can be introduced for each sample. All reagents [5-9] required for specimen analyses are contained within the test packs. 

Direct injection of blood serum (102) or sample extracts with little or no cleanup (53) is possible, which makes HPLC procedures comparable in speed with other rapid tests With increased use of solid-phase absorption in cleanup, automation of procedures is feasible TLC is also a useful and inexpensive technique and quantitative TLC methods have been described (30,63) The following chapter describes practical application of various procedures in a drug residue monitoring program ... 

Table 1 How to test an automated blood pressure device against a trained and certified human observer using a mercury manometer and stethescope3 ...

Mutations in HIV accumulate and interact with each other and cause resistance to one drug and then others, one of the pivotal problems in treatment. In the past, the complexity of HIV drug-resistance testing and the limited information on its clinical utility made routine application impractical. Recent advances in automated assay technology have allowed rapid characterization of HIV in blood samples, so an increasing number of commercial laboratories now offer phenotypic and genotypic testing. 

Cats have large platelets with a mean platelet volume of 15.1 fl. These large platelets overlap in size with erythrocytes matog automated platelet coimts subject to error (Tschopp 1970). Additionally, platelet aggregates are frequently encountered in blood samples collected for routine hematologic tests. 

When an assay system has been designed to analyze whole blood samples, specimen preparation time is essentially eliminated. Automated or semiautomated ion-selective electrodes, which measure ion activity in whole blood rather than ion concentration, have been incorporated into automated systems to provide certain test results within minutes of the drawing of a specimen. This approach is now commonly used for assaying electrolytes and some other common analytes. Another approach involves either manual or automated application of whole blood to dry reagent films and visual or instrumental observation of a quantitative change. This approach is exemplified by the Reflotron Plus. 

The task of integrating laboratory automation begins with the laboratory workstation. In general, a clinical laboratory workstation is usually devoted to a defined task (e.g., performing chemistry profiles, complete blood counts, hormone testing, polymerase chain reaction testing, and urinalysis) and contains appropriate laboratory instrumenta-... 

Although AFP was traditionally measured by RIA, newer methods use lEMA or chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA) because of their lower detection lunits, better precision, speed, avoidance of radioactivity, and ease of automation. Most laboratories in the United States measure AFP by use of automated systems available from Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, 111,), Bayer (Medfield, Mass.), Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, Calif.), Diagnostic Products (Los Angeles), and Perkin Elmer (Norwalk, Conn.). Judging from the results of proficiency testing sponsored by the Foundation for Blood Research and College of American Pathologists (Survey FP), all of these systems perform satisfactorily. ... 

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