An evaluation of the improved Technicon Chem 1 system

The improved selective multitest analyser Technicon Chem 1 was evaluated according to the ECCLS guidelines in our laboratory. Twenty two routine parameters were examined. The trial also included a clinical evaluation. About 50,000 measurements were performed during six weeks. The following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The changes made in the system (mainly software) led to genuine improvements. 2. The precision of the system can be rated as good. With a few exceptions (alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, albumin and total bilirubin) all between-day coefficients of variation are lower than 3%. 3. Excellent agreement was found between the results obtained from the Chem 1 and from the comparison methods. 4. No drift was observed. Once calibrated the Chem 1 can be used for at least fifteen days without renewed calibration, except for the analysis of sodium, potassium and calcium. 5. No carry-over was observed, either specimen-related, or reagent-related. 6. Though not all methods were examined in detail, in general the linearity was found to agree with the manufacturer's claims. 7. The influence of interfering substances proved to be moderate. 8. The practicability of the system was good. A more complete judgement is given in the Discussion Section.