Meters 'don't work' for everybody ??? -- Values are always higher than lab?

[Scott]

Calibrated machines go out of calibration sometimes. It might just be the one tester is out of calibration and not the type of tester. I work in a shop that has all kinds of test equipment. It all goes back for calibration every year. Its good to compare it to a standard every now and then. That would be the blood draw.

 

[Marty]

INRatio tech told me all meters self calibrate before each test.

 

[ElectLive]

I saw recently that the Coag-Sense meter (http://www.coagusense.com/professionals.php) is advertised as equipped (micro mechanical means of clot detection instead of electrochemical) to overcome the blood disorder hurdle, as well as having improved precision and accuracy across the board. Obviously, self marketing doesn't mean anything necessarily, but it sure sounds promising, anyone have any direct experience with or research into this meter?

 

[Protimenow]

I've looked into it -- but not gotten much response from them. For $795 it may be affordable for some people -- and the mechanical method of detecting coagulation sounds promising - but I'm not sure how it can overcome nearly non-existent marketing, unless the company is bought by one with pockets big enough to do some effective marketing.

(BTW--my ProTime meter supposedly ALSO uses direct coagulation to detect INRs -- it moves the blood through the cuvette (their word for strip), and uses an optical monitoring system to determine when the blood has clotted).