Calibration and Quality Control 7-3
7.3 Running Controls
A control is a biological sample or solution with a suitably contrived matrix that is analyzed for
purposes of quality control. The composition of the matrix must be such that the solution closely
matches that of the biological specimen for characteristics of importance to the analyzer. Control
materials need to be stable and available in sufficient volumes in multiple portions and over an
extended period. Many control products are available commercially. Assayed controls also come
with expected values of the analytes for guidance.
The VS2 includes an extensive iQC program that eliminates the need for routine external liquid
controls. If an external control is needed occasionally, the analyzer provides a memory bank to
store that data. The control must have a composition closely matching that of the biological spec-
imen in characteristics important to analysis. Control materials must be available in sufficient vol-
umes and multiple portions, and stable over an extended period. Many control products are
available commercially. Assayed controls also include expected analytes values for guidance.
The Run Controls menu function (see page 7-3) automatically stores control results in a memory
separate from the patient results memory. The Recall function may be used to search for specific
control results without searching through all patient results stored in memory.
Note: Before a control can be run, a control level must be enabled in the ref-
erence ranges — see page 5-6.
Controls can be run whenever the analyzer displays the Home screen.
Note: Always wear personal protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, lab
coat) when running any control containing components derived from
human sources. The gloves should be powder free to avoid getting pow-
der on the analyzer optics.
For more details on running an analysis, see “Running Tests” on
page 4-5.
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