Piccolo Xpress Manuel De L'opérateur page 89

Operating Principles
Section 8
8.1 Principles of Procedure
The operator introduces a heparinized whole blood sample (or
heparinized plasma, serum, or control) into the reagent disc. The
reagent disc contains a diluent and test-specific reagent beads.
The operator then places the disc in the Piccolo Xpress chemis-
try analyzer and enters the appropriate identification numbers.
The analyzer automatically performs the remainder of the test-
ing protocol.
The reagent disc spins and whole blood is separated into plasma
and blood cells. During this time, the disc is heated to 37 ºC
(98.6 ºF). Precisely measured quantities of plasma and diluent
enter the mixing chamber and are mixed together. Through cen-
trifugal and capillary forces, the diluted plasma is distributed to
cuvettes on the perimeter of the disc. Reagent beads in the
cuvettes are dissolved by the diluted plasma. This solution is
thoroughly mixed and the resulting chemical reactions are mon-
itored photometrically by the analyzer. Optical signals gener-
ated by the chemical reactions are used to calculate analyte
concentrations. Calibration data specific for the chemistries in
each disc are provided to the analyzer by the bar code printed on
the bar code ring.
After the analysis is completed, the results print automatically.
Analyte concentrations and reference ranges for each test in the
panel and sample indices are included on a printout, providing a
paper copy of the results. Results are also stored in the ana-
lyzer's memory and can be transmitted to external computers.
The used reagent disc is removed and discarded.
The Piccolo Xpress is then ready to analyze another sample.
Operating Principles 8-1