Some practical aspects of the validation of photometric systems for clinical analyses

Abstract

 It is well known that erroneous data reported to a physician may strongly affect medical decision making. For routine clinical chemistry purposes, different instrumentation can be used to compare measurements of unknown samples with standard reference materials. Currently, acceptable limits of accuracy and precision are poorly defined in the field of clinical chemistry laboratories. In this article, problems associated with spectrophotometric measurements, both manual and automated, are discussed. The task of the validation of photometric systems for clinical analyses is currently of considerable interest. Some practical aspects of this validation and the use of reference materials for this activity in the national area are discussed.