IFA instructions for use often include recommendations for reagent temperatures and for incubation humidity because the micro-climates in clinical laboratories vary, and sometimes can fall out of range.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has guidelines for temperature and humidity in the working environment, and the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) both provide humidity and temperature ranges for clinical laboratories.
These regulations describe the optimal range for temperature as 20-25 degrees Celsius. Humidity should be 35-50 percent. IFA standardization is a major concern across laboratories, and many standardization initiatives such as the GEAI, Easy Group, and ICAP have been launched to address this issue. Having consistent humidity and temperature helps laboratories improve the accuracy and reproducibility of their results.
To account for micro-climate variation and deliver more comparable results to our customers, a new optional module has been developed for the HELIOS. This new accessory lets technicians regulate and control IFA temperature and humidity
The "humidity and temperature control" (HTC) add-on also enables testing with a wide range of automated infectious disease substrates, including EBV, HSV, Adenovirus, and Borrelia.
General Specifications
Incubation up to 37°C
Set and maintain optimal humidity point
Sample-ring moves every 10 seconds during incubation to guarantee environmental homogeneity
Sample Capacity: Up to 190 barcoded samples
Sample Identification: Built-in multi-type barcode reader for sample detection and identification
Slide Capacity: Up to 20 slides