This month’s product spotlight is our new Liquid HbA1c Control. Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a look at some of the QC solutions available from Randox for HbA1c.

Haemoglobin is an oxygen-transporting protein found inside Red Blood Cells (RBC). Glycated Haemoglobin is simply a haemoglobin with a glucose molecule attached. The higher the level of glucose in the blood the more glycated haemoglobin is formed. Red Blood Cells live for around 2-3 months, because of this the HbA1c test is used by clinicians to get an overall picture of average blood sugar levels for the last 2-3 months. For people with diabetes this is important as the higher the HbA1c, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. It is suggested that an individual’s HbA1c target should be under 48mmol/mol or below 6.5%. By lowering your HbA1c, you help reduce the risk of long-term health problems.

HbA1c is used to monitor patients with diabetes providing an indication of how well the condition is controlled. A measurement of less than 6% of HbA1c in the sample indicates good glucose control and a lower risk of diabetic complications for the majority of diabetics.

Week 1: HbA1C Quality Control

The Randox Acusera HbA1c control is designed for use in the quality control of both HbA1c and Total Haemoglobin assays. Assayed instrument and method specific target values and ranges are provided for all major systems and methods including HPLC. A reconstituted stability of 4 weeks keeps waste to a minimum and helps to reduce costs.

Main Features and Benefits:

Week 2: Liquid HbA1C Quality Control

The Randox Acusera Liquid HbA1C control is conveniently supplied in a liquid ready-to-use format and is ideally suited to both clinical laboratories and POCT helping to significantly reduce preparation time. With a stability of 30 days, waste and costs are also kept to a minimum.

Main Features and Benefits:

Liquid ready-to-use
Human based whole blood
Convenient bi-level pack covering clinically relevant decision levels
Stable to expiry date at  2°C – 8°C
Open vial stability of 30 days at  2°C – 8°C

Week 3: RIQAS HbA1C Programme

RIQAS is the largest international External Quality Assessment Scheme, with more than 40,000 participants in over 124 countries. World renowned for reducing the number of individual programmes required by even the most demanding laboratories, RIQAS covers 360 parameters across 32 flexible multi-parameter programmes.  Effective consolidation in this way will not only deliver real cost savings but free up storage space and ultimately reduce the time spent preparing multiple samples at each survey.

The RIQAS Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) EQA programme is designed to monitor the performance of HbA1c and Total Haemoglobin assays.

Main Features and Benefits:

Accredited to ISO/IEC 17043 designed to meet ISO 15189 requirements
Lyophilised for enhanced stability
100% whole blood ensuring a matrix similar to the patient sample
Monthly reporting allowing identification of any system errors sooner
Submit results and view reports online via RIQAS.Net
Register up to five instruments at no extra cost