Chapter Name
Foreword
Intended Use
Advanced Osmometers use the technique of freezing point
depression to measure osmolality. Osmolality is the total solute
concentration of an aqueous solution. Osmometers measure the
number of solute particles irrespective of molecular weight or
ionic charge. This information is useful to the following disci-
plines:
Clinical, emergency and sports medicine
Medical research
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and
manufacturing
Food and beverage manufacturing
Environmental research and monitoring
Academic research
Industrial applications
For clinical applications, a trained operator can use an osmome-
ter to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of water and elec-
trolyte imbalances. Osmometers test virtually any biological
fluid including, but not limited to, serum, whole blood, plasma,
urine, feces, sweat, and tissue homogenate. Operation of the
instrument is deemed moderate complexity under CLIA and
FDA guidelines.