Guest Essay
For the laboratory medicine, it's critical to understand difference between Reference Interval (RI) and Biological variation (BV). We are pleased to have a guest essay where the most commonly-asked-questions about both topics are answered.
Dr. Graham White provides an explanation of measurement uncertainty (MU), its role in the clinical laboratory, and the advantages it has over the use of total error.
Designing QC for a single test can be a challenge. Imagine the task of selecting the appropriate QC for more than 70 tests on multiple instruments across multiple laboratories. In this essay, Nuthar Jassam and colleagues describe how this was actually done at a network of laboratories in the UK.
Dr. Carmen Ricos and colleagues discuss the new additions and updates to the increasingly vital biologic variation database. Now in its 7th edition, the database provides the largest source of information on biological variation, allowable bias and imprecision, and desirable specifications for total allowable error.
Dr. Dietmar Stockl continues his series on quality control. This article discusses the need for stability and its relationship to the quality requirement.