Operating Procedures; Operating Precautions; General Selections - Awareness Technology Stat Fax 4200 Operator's Manual

2. Operating Procedures

2.1 Operating Precautions

Avoid lifting, leaning or turning the instrument over when a plate is in place.
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Be sure to run a sufficient number of controls in each assay. If controls are not within
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their acceptable limits or if incomplete, disregard test results.

2.2 General Selections

For every test, the instrument will require a mode selection and filter combination. Thereafter,
only those questions that pertain to the mode selected will be asked. In the Absorbance Mode, for
example, there are no further selections required.
Review the following questions before beginning a test (refer to the reagent kit insert for required
information):
1. How will absorbance readings be converted into a final result?
2. Is a Blank required? Which filters are optimal? (primary and differential
wavelengths)
3. How many calibrators will be used? NOTE: For the purpose of this manual, the
terms calibrator and standard are used interchangeably to designate reference
materials of known concentrations.
4. What is the calibrator value or values?
5. Will calibrators and /or specimens be read in duplicate, or singly? NOTE: For the
purpose of this manual, the terms specimen and sample are used interchangeably
to mean materials of unknown concentrations.
6. Will locations of one or more controls be marked? If so, indicate plate number,
row number, and well number for each.
7. Will acceptance cutoffs or ranges for controls be entered for automatic
comparison? If so, what cutoffs or ranges are to be used for each?
8. Will a cutoff value be used to label positive samples? If so, the value that begins
the positive range will be required.
9. Will a cutoff value be used to label negative samples or define an equivocal zone?
If so, results less than which cutoff should be labeled as negative?
10. Will only a partial plate be read?
12 Stat Fax ® 4200 Operator's Manual Doc. 4200 Rev. K