Data processing of the output from a Vickers M300 clinical chemistry analyser. Principles and implementation.

A suite of data processing programs is described, which takes the results' log from a Vickers Medical LTD M300 clinical chemistry analyser; corrects phasing errors; allows various types of recalibration (recalculation) of the data; and delivers the results to a general purpose laboratory data filing system (PHOENIX-ACHILLES). An important problem with the data is that results may be unphased with respect to their identification data for mechanical reasons. The principles underlying rephasing, and other requirements for handling the M300 data are described, together with the processes used by the operator. Deliberately, no ammendments were made to the supported software for the integral computer in the M300 analyser. The new software supplements the analyser by allowing the operator to summarise the corrections to the data which would have been made under manual conditions: the required corrections are then completed by the computer. About 70 working days were required to complete the program: this was much more than has been required to program data handling for several other analysers which do not have phasing problems.