The RAMP System

Measurement of cardiac markers

The Rapid Analyte Measurement Platform (RAMP) system from Response Biomedical Corp, Burnaby, BC, Canada, provides a quantitative measurement of cardiac markers in whole blood. The system delivers results in less than 15 minutes for most assays, and two levels of QC are performed with each test. Tests are available for CK-MB, myoglobin, and Troponin I. NT-proBNP is in development under license from Roche.

Response Biomedical Corp
(888) 591-5577
www.responsebio.com

Cardiasure

Cardiac markers controls

Cardiasure cardiac markers controls from Quantimetrix Corp, Redondo Beach, Calif, provide a means for monitoring serum cardiac analyte testing methods. A new feature is the addition of NT proBNP, which is compatible with many major chemistry analyzers, such as AIA, AxSYM, ACS:180, Access, Dimension, Elecsys, Stratus, Synchron, and Tosoh A/A. The product has a liquid, human serum matrix, includes 3-year frozen stability from date of manufacture, and can be refrozen twice. It is available at three levels, with 90-day unopened and 60-day open-vial stability when stored at 2-8°C. The product is packaged in a dropper-tip plastic bottle. Quantrol, a comparative quality control program, provides labs with free monthly reports to monitor test performance and trend analysis.

Quantimetrix Corp
(800) 624-8380
www.4qc.com

CRP(hs) Wide-Range Reagent

Immunoturbidimetric assay

The CRP(hs) wide-range reagent from Pointe Scientific, Canton, Mich, is an immunoturbidimetric assay used for the determination of CRP concentrations over a wide range. The reagent is for use on automated chemistry analyzers in hospital, reference, and physician office labs. CRP has been shown to be a useful tool to determine if patients are at increased risk for developing stroke, myocardial infarction, or severe peripheral vascular disease, and it is a marker of nonspecific inflammation in a variety of other conditions. The expected value for CRP in healthy individuals is below 3.0 mg/L. The assay provides a range of 0.1 to 320 mg/L, which minimizes the need to repeat elevated samples. The company manufactures other cardiac risk reagents and markers for automated chemistry analyzers, including Lp(a), HDL, LDL, cholesterol, and triglycerides; and CK, CK-MB, AST, ALT, lactate, and LDH.

Pointe Scientific
(800) 445-9853
www.pointescientific.com

NT-proBNP

Assay

The NT-proBNP from Roche, Basel, Switzerland, is an aid in the diagnosis of heart failure and risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome and heart failure, and is an aid in assessing risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality in patients with stable coronary artery disease. The FDA has cleared the assay for risk assessment of cardiac events for people with stable coronary artery disease. The claim may allow clinical labs to expand cardiac outreach services in conjunction with other cardiac risk markers, such as direct LDL and hsCRP, from the company. The assay provides 72-hour sample stability, which facilitates use for outreach purposes. The product's reagents are in liquid format and provide full walkaway automation on the Elecsys and cobas immunoassay platforms.

Roche
(800) 346-8606
www.roche.com