Protecting Clinical Output from Water Risks

When lives are at stake, there is no margin for error. Your clinical analyzer must receive a constant and reliable supply of CLRW™ (Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water) regardless of the quality of the feedwater available. The CLRW guideline is a widely adopted standard for in vitro diagnostics applications. It aims to guarantee the use of a basic level of water purity so that clinical chemistry assays can be run consistently with minimum risk to the analyzer and the clinical test results.

Poor water quality affects the tests themselves and impacts all aspects of analyzer operation. Good water purification system design, providing recirculation, is the key to long-term bacterial control. The right water system will enable increased productivity, efficiency, and accuracy of workflow in your laboratory. The wrong system will cause downtime and unforeseen expenditure in the long run. Patient results can be seriously impacted by poor water quality feeding a clinical analyzer. This can arise from the use of a single-pass system, where water has stagnated and reduced in quality to unacceptable levels.

Bacteria will grow in water and form biofilm on surfaces in contact with the water unless preventative measures are taken. 0.2 μm filters can be used to remove bacteria, but if the feed water is already too contaminated, the challenge on any water purification system or downstream analyzer will be too great. This will result in high build-up on the membrane, increasing the risk of bacterial growth breaking through to the analyzer. Careful system design is essential to achieve bacterial control. To remove bacteria from water, ELGA systems use reverse osmosis, ultraviolet irradiation, and ultra-microfiltration. However, these are not present at the point of dispense to the analyzer. Water will sit statically until there is a demand. This means in periods of low demand, such as overnight, there is an opportunity for bacteria to grow. ELGA systems use periodic recirculation to avoid this problem. The reduction of ionic content in the water of ELGA LabWater’s MEDICA product range is a process that involves reverse osmosis, and deionization, plus electro deionization (EDI) when used.

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