Hi chaps
Some recent postings and discussions with a training course class this year, have prompted me to pose some Christmas questions. I have a small side bet on who will respond first!
My purpose is to stimulate debate about the words we use to describe the 'things' we 'measure' and whether we share a common understanding of them. I am not an expert, I may not be phrasing the questions in the right way, and I don't know what the right answers are, but the reponses might be interesting!
The following is a list of some common 'tests' in most labs' repertoire (assume all are serum/plasma/whole blood as appropriate).
[1] alkaline phosphatase
[2] cholesterol
[3] Ca125
[4] free T4
[5] HbA1c
[6] oestradiol
[7] Troponin I
[8] TSH
[9] SHBG
[10] sodium
In each case, can they be described as 'analytes' or 'measurands'?
Is this is a silly question because the terms are equivalent, or is it a highly pertinent one as they have different meanings, or does this only matter to the 'anoraks'?
And how does our understanding of what is being 'tested for' or 'measured' depend on the method of analysis and the 'signal-producing entity' within it?
Happy Christmas!
Jonathan Middle
UK NEQAS Birmingham
tel 0121 414 7300, fax 0121 414 1179
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