A clinical chemistry analyzer evaluated by NCCLS guidelines for use in a military field laboratory unit

In a previous comparison study of "dry chemistry" desktop analyzers, the ChemPro 1000 (Arden Medical Systems) was one of several instruments found suitable for field use. We have now evaluated the linearity, accuracy, and precision of the ChemPro 1000, according to NCCLS Document EP 10-P. We also compared results with those by the SMAC (Technicon) and the Nova 9 (Nova Biomedical) for electrolytes, serum urea nitrogen, and ionized calcium in field and laboratory environments. The precision (CV) of the ChemPro was within acceptable ranges for dry chemistry desktop analyzers for all analytes tested. This instrument is a suitable and reasonable alternative to manual chemistry or to large, automated instrumentation in a field environment.