Solution reagent kit accu-beads®+

clinicallaboratoryquality control

Hamilton Thorne has received an increasing number of requests to add a low concentration level to its accu-beads+ QC test kit. In response, HT has added a third level of 3 M/ml, to the previous levels of 18 M/ml and 35 M/ml. According to the WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination of and Processing of Human Semen (5th edition), when an accurate assessment of low sperm numbers is not required for samples approximately 1 M/ml or lower, it is sufficient for most clinical purposes to report the sperm concentration as <2 M/ml (to take into account the high sampling error associated with low sperm numbers). Thus the 3 M/ml concentration is outside of the generalization range and may be used as a low level quality control for sperm counts. What are accu-beads+? accu-beads+ consist of three known concentrations of latex beads (3, 18 and 35 M/ml) suspended in an aqueous solution. Similar in size to human sperm, the Accu-Beads+ have been developed to confirm accurate counting procedures used for routine semen analysis. Who Will Benefit from Using accu-beads+? Whether you perform your semen counts using an automated analyzer or manually, you can use accu-beads+ for quality control. What do accubeads+ Evaluate? When used in an automated semen analyzer, the accu-beads+ test and evaluate the optical and image acquisition systems of the analyzer. For manual methods, the accu-beads+ are used to evaluate the actual counting procedures practiced. Because motility is irrelevant for checking these functions, the static nature of the accu-beads+ will not affect the quality control testing.