Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Ortho), Raritan, NJ, has launched Vitros ALTV slides, a novel method for the measurement of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) utilizing dry slide technology. The key liver function enzyme is found in serum and plasma.
ALT is distributed primarily in the liver, and ALT testing is used in the diagnosis and treatment of such liver diseases as cirrhosis and viral hepatitis, as well as heart diseases. Elevated ALT levels are highly suggestive of liver damage, and ALT measurements are particularly useful in the diagnosis and management of liver disease.
“Having a very high quality ALT liver function screening test to assist physicians in diagnosis and treatment is critically important, as liver disease rates have been steadily increasing over the years,” says Fernando Chaves, MD, global head of medical and scientific affairs at Ortho.
Vitros ALTV slides confer several operational and clinical advantages for the clinical laboratory and physicians, including low patient sample volumes needed for testing, extended calibration stability, and minimal storage space requirements. Dry slide technology does not require water, plumbing and drains, or the need to dispose of water as medical waste. It also eliminates the need for high-quality water as a requirement for testing.
Robert Yates, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics.
“This addition demonstrates Ortho’s renewed commitment to ongoing innovation and improvements to our dry slide technology,” says Robert Yates, chief operating officer at Ortho. “With the Vitros ALTV slides, we are providing a menu that spans key disease state areas with world-class assays that provide high value and exceptional performance to clinicians, patients, and laboratories.”
For more information, visit Ortho Clinical Diagnostics.
