PCSplus provides Nist-traceable pipette performance verification in minutes, strengthening accuracy and precision in DNA testing, toxicology screening and other critical forensic laboratory processes.
Forensic laboratories can enhance confidence in data and maximise efficiency with new PCSplus, a product of liquid delivery quality assurance innovator Artel, says the company.
PCSplus provides Nist-traceable pipette performance verification in minutes, strengthening accuracy and precision in DNA testing, toxicology screening and other critical forensic laboratory processes.
Complete with Pipette Tracker software and full installation, validation, training and support services, PCSplus provides integrated and automatic pipette management, from calibration scheduling through compliance documentation.
Because forensic laboratories often work with very small and limited liquid quantities, dispensing volumes inaccurately can produce faulty or incomplete results.
Due to irreplaceable and high value samples and the severe consequences of incorrect data, such as false imprisonment or inability to prosecute, liquid delivery devices must perform consistently to exceptionally tight tolerances.
Furthermore, state and federal regulations and strict standards, such as those promulgated by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), mandate laboratories to maintain solid calibration processes that can withstand close scrutiny.
The forensics industry is also challenged by a massive backlog of pending DNA testing.
In 2005, the US Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that the average forensic laboratory had 650 samples waiting to be analysed, which was a 73 percent increase from 2001.
PCSplus is an integrated programme that streamlines equipment performance verification to improve not only the accuracy of testing, but also the speed.
"Forensic laboratories are in the midst of a tug-of-war, with regulations and quality assurance at one end of the rope and pressure to complete sample analysis quickly at the other," remarks Kirby Pilcher, president, Artel.
"PCSplus meets the growing need for new liquid delivery quality assurance technologies that enable laboratories to concurrently meet both objectives".
Completing pipette verification in minutes, PCSplus can be used as often as desired without increasing analysis time.
Equipment operating out of specification is immediately flagged for correction to prevent its use in critical tests.
Additionally, because PCSplus is robust, environmental fluctuations can be removed as sources of data uncertainty.
This is in contrast to other liquid delivery calibration methods, such as gravimetry, which require highly controlled environments for accurate results.
User-friendly and portable, PCSplus can be used bench top for frequent interim checks resulting in defendable data.
These features also enable PCSplus to be used to evaluate personnel pipetting technique and proficiency.
Another element of PCSplus is Pipette Tracker, a pipette management software system that provides automatic scheduling of pipette calibrations and complete electronic record keeping.
Transcription errors are eliminated, regulatory compliance is enhanced, and technicians are freed from time consuming and error-prone manual record keeping.
And to help forensics laboratories implement and optimise their system, Artel includes on-site installation, database and method set-up, validation (if required) and instrument user and proficiency training.
Artel also customises the system per each laboratory's QA protocols and regulatory requirements.
PCSplus is based on Artel's patented ratiometric photometry, which uses two specially formulated reagents to ensure accurate and precise measurements, especially with ultra-low volumes.
This technology is also applied in Artel's other liquid delivery verification systems, including the recently launched MVSTM Advanced for more automated forensic laboratories.
Able to verify the performance of each channel in multichannel liquid delivery systems, this product can be used to optimize automated liquid handling instrumentation quickly and easily in the same Nist-traceable format as PCSplus.
Artel says it is the worldwide technology leader in low-volume liquid delivery measurement and quality assurance.
Based on its patented ratiometric photometry technology and advanced dye chemistry, Artel manufactures the most accurate, precise, and easy-to-use systems available for ensuring liquid delivery data integrity and Nist-traceable results.
Since 1982, ARTEL technology has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories.
Leading institutions such as Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck, the US FDA, the FBI and the Mayo Clinic depend on Artel technology to help them meet their objectives for productivity and quality.
