New QC process validates new blood gas technology at each measurement

NPT7, developed by Radiometer Medical, Copenhagen, Denmark, is a blood gas analyzer optimized for the near-patient setting. The analyzer is based on dry, optical technologies and single-use cuvettes. The quality of each individual measurement is validated by a new approach to internal quality control, which has been named QualityGuard. This paper provides an overview of QualityGuard and, using the pCO2 measurement as an example, describes how the different elements of QualityGuard manages the quality control of the NPT7 itself, and of the quality of a measurement.