BENICIA, CA – January 27, 2009. AcroMetrix, the leading provider of quality control materials for molecular infectious disease testing, announced today the launch of the OptiQuant® CMVtc Calibration Panel. The panel was designed to provide traceable results and possess commutable properties across assay systems. A material is considered “commutable” if it behaves like a patient sample on different diagnostic platforms. The OptiQuant CMVtc Calibration Panel is intended for use as a standard to assess the performance of molecular diagnostic test procedures for the determination of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA.
Accurate diagnosis of patient disease states requires reference materials that are not only traceable to a higher-order standard, but also closely mimic true patient samples, a property called commutability. Since a single patient sample can give different results on different instruments, the commutable reference material needs to reflect those differences as well.
At the 2008 Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Annual Meeting, AcroMetrix sponsored a workshop presenting data from the first ever study on CMV commutability. The study from two independent laboratories that used the OptiQuant CMVtc Calibration Panel highlighted the importance of using calibration materials with commutable properties. The study also showed common calibrators alone did not necessarily improve the comparability of results.
“Given the importance of comparability of results in laboratory medicine, particularly in transplantation, we are very excited to offer this unique product to CMV testing laboratories,” said Ralf Schoenbrunner, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development at AcroMetrix. “Through our study, we have found that use of non-commutable calibrators can do more harm than good. It is critical for physicians to receive accurate and comparable results to be able to determine a standard of care based on these results. We are planning further development of commutable materials much like the OptiQuant CMVtc Panel.”
Each OptiQuant CMVtc Panel member’s target concentration is expressed in copies per milliliter in accordance with the ISO 17511 standard. This allows for traceable, standardized comparison of test results across laboratories, assays, and manufacturers performing CMV DNA testing. This product is For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
OptiQuant® is a registered trademark of AcroMetrix ©2009
About AcroMetrix
AcroMetrix, with facilities in Benicia, California and Alkmaar, the Netherlands, provides a comprehensive line of molecular and serological diagnostic quality control products that assist laboratories in meeting current government regulations regarding quality. AcroMetrix maintains this leadership role by consistently developing innovative standards, external run controls, and validation kits for molecular and serological testing in blood screening and clinical diagnostic laboratories. For more information on AcroMetrix please visit the company web site at http://www.acrometrix.com.
