Weqas Reference Measurement has two main roles:

• To develop primary and/or secondary reference methods in order to give stated, traceable, analyte values with known uncertainty in calibrator, QC and EQA material used within Laboratory Medicine. This service is available to QC manufacturers, IVD manufacturers and EQA providers.
• To produce low cost Quality Control matrix reference material (QCRM).

The Reference Measurement Laboratory undertakes network analyses as part of the initiative undertaken by the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM) and has also been involved in SRM targeting exercises in conjunction with the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM).
 
All analyses utilise state of the art technology with methods validated according to the guidelines of ISO 15195 (Laboratory Medicine – Requirements for reference measurement laboratories). Traceable reference material and gravimetric preparation of samples is used where possible, allowing the establishment of uncertainty measurements to be estimated according to GUM.

 

Goals

The Goals of a reference system are:

• To establish worldwide compatibility of clinical measurements
• To evaluate the performance of routine laboratories on an objective basis within systems of QC and QA
• To permit the evaluation of accuracy of analytical systems for routine use

Definition of a reference method

• A method which after exhaustive investigations has been shown to have negligible inaccuracy in comparison with its imprecision.

ButtnerJ et al. Clin Chem Clin Biochem 1980; 18:69-77.

• A thoroughly investigated method, clearly and exactly describing the necessary conditions and procedures, for the measurement of one or more property values that has been shown to have accuracy and precision commensurate with its intended use and that can therefore be used to assess the accuracy of other methods for the same measurement, particularly in permitting the characterization of a reference material.

International Organization for Standardization. ISO Guide 30. 2nd Ed. Geneva: ISO, 1992.

• A technique that can be accomplished with generally available equipment and that, after exhaustive investigation, has been shown to have acceptable known inaccuracy in comparison with a definitive method.