  |
Today’s consolidation, regulatory issues and attempts at cost containment
have increased the need for improvements in laboratory-based allergy testing.
Customers have been in search of a flexible and fully automated allergy
system similar to instruments they are using for other immunoassays. DPC
will meet this need with the introduction of allergy testing on the IMMULITE®
2000. This system will inaugurate a new era in allergy testing by allowing
the laboratory to perform allergen-specific IgE testing as a routine in-house
assay.
Experience
and innovation in allergy testing
DPC
has been a major player in the in vitro allergy diagnostics market for
nearly 15 years. In the late 1980s, DPC developed AlaSTAT®,
the first patented liquid-allergen technology. Compared to conventional
solid-phase methods, this novel approach demonstrated unique reagent performance
and paved the way for automating allergen-specific IgE testing. Today,
the advantages of the AlaSTAT liquid-phase reagents—preservation
of natural allergen conformations, and superior analytical and clinical
performance—are
well established.
Specific
IgE laboratory testing is time consuming and labor intensive due to the
large number of allergens in existence. Automation has always been highly
desirable. Thanks to its liquid allergens, DPC has been able to develop
automated systems: AlaSTAT Microplate in the 1990s and, more recently,
the IMMULITE® format with a menu that includes individual allergens as
well as allergen panels for low-volume allergy testing.
With
the advent of allergy testing on the IMMULITE 2000, the laboratory can
run allergen-specific IgE tests along with its other immunoassays. The
adaptation of existing AlaSTAT allergens (currently numbering more than
330, with 47 mixed allergen panels) to the IMMULITE 2000 will allow quick
development and release of tests on this new platform.
Allergy
testing simplified
Allergy
testing on the IMMULITE 2000 combines the AlaSTAT and IMMULITE 2000 technologies,
for an exceptional synergy of liquid allergens and chemiluminescence with
fully automated random access. A totally new allergen reagent wedge holds
up to six different allergens, and upgraded software provides true random
access allergy testing. With the IMMULITE 2000, allergy testing has become,
for the first time, a routine immunoassay.
IMMULITE
2000 allergy testing benefits
| · |
The
simple assay procedure offers the possibility of bringing allergy
testing in house, eliminating the need for send-out batch testing. |
| · |
Customizable
allergen wedges allow the lab to select the best allergen combinations,
with up to six different allergens in each wedge. |
| · |
For
dedicated allergy use, the operator can load the 23 wedges with six
allergens each, for a total of up to 138 allergens residing refrigerated
on board. |
| · |
A time-to-first-result of 65 minutes and a throughput
of up to 100 tests per hour contribute to faster turnaround times.
|
| · |
A
time-to-first-result of 65 minutes and a throughput of up to 100 tests
per hour contribute to faster turnaround times. |
| · |
True
random access means allergen-specific IgE testing can proceed along
with other IMMULITE 2000 immunoassays, as quickly as samples arrive
in the lab. |
| · |
Barcoded
allergen vials offer positive allergen ID and help eliminate allergen/sample
mismatches. |
| · |
On-board
QC provides monitoring of assay performance. |
| · |
Vials
of 20 and 40 tests will be available for economical management of
allergen inventory. |
|
