Instrumentation in clinical chemistry

Abstract

This chapter discusses the principles of the main classes of instruments, their relative merits and applications, and the types likely to be important in the future. The development of instrumentation has determined much of the progress of clinical chemistry. Instruments fulfill two functions: (1) to enable an analysis to be made which is not otherwise possible, and (2) to enable it to be made faster, more accurately, on smaller quantities, or more cheaply than by alternative methods. The quality of any analytical result and the cost of obtaining it are determined by the method, the operator's technique, and the instruments used. Several unique features dictate the type of instrument required in clinical chemistry. Some of them include accuracy, precision, sensitivity, speed, and cost. An instrument acts as a communication device that converts chemical or physical information into a form which is more readily observed. It does this by following various steps—(1) generating a signal which is as large and stable as possible, (2) transforming the signal to one of a different nature, (3) amplification, and (4) presentation of the final signal in a readable form. © 1972, Academic Press Inc.