The reliability of biochemical analyzers is vital in the clinical laboratories, and their results determine the treatment policy, diagnostics and management of patients. However, the analysis conducted by the most sophisticated analyzer can give wrong data when one minor element fails: lamp bulb. The bulb, instead of being a little peripheral component, is the core of how the analyzer identifies analytes properly and hence its performance is what makes or breaks the integrity of the laboratory.
Light Stability: The Foundation of Reliable Readings
The essence of biochemical testing relies on the ability of analyzers to rely on the trustworthy light output to calculate the sample absorption or transmission of light. These measurements can be skewed by the use of a bulb with variable intensity or highly variable wavelengths thus causing the analyzer to give false information about the concentration of analytes by lying. To give one example, a dimmer bulb would have underestimated glucose levels whereas unstable wavelength shifts would have misinterpreted activity of enzymes. All our lamp bulbs are designed with consistent stability so that they retain the right light characteristics throughout their lifetime. This guarantees the facts of absorbance measures to be true to what the sample is actually made of, hence clinicians are assured by the data they are provided with.
Degradation: A Silent Saboteur of Consistency
Better quality bulbs also wear over time- the risk is the very imperceptible nature of the wear. The gradual loss of intensity or a changing spectrum of a bulb will cause no sharp alarming changes, but will result in slight cumulative errors. The results of cholesterol test one week may vary slightly the following week due to the patient remaining the same but the output of the bulb changing. Such discrepancy undermines the credibility of the analyzer. Our bulbs are built to be resistant to premature degradation and with longer lives postponing this degradation. We can identify recommended replacement timelines to prevent the lying phase in which results cannot be relied on anymore.
Choosing the Right Bulb: A Commitment to Quality
Not every bulb was created the same and selecting below average substitutes is a quick way to achieve unreliable information. In specific assays, generic bulbs might not have the exact spectral calibration making the analyzer reads the sample wrongly. We calibrate our bulbs to fit the exact needs of biochemical testing, such they are compatible with the optics in the analyzer as well as compatible with the reagents that are used. Having this alignment removes the possible risk of false readings due to incompatible or badly designed bulbs and aids in supporting the accuracy that the lab is going to keep.
Ultimately an analyzer is as pure of heart as its lamp bulb. The labs take these measures because they want their results to indicate the reality-not the shortcoming of a defective component. Considering that the data can be used in patient care, a patient cannot afford a lying analyzer.
