Heating Block / Incubator

[BBK710]

What kind of quality control do you perform on heating blocks or incubators used for tube testing other that daily temps? We have a procedure to determine incubation time by checking how long it takes for the reagents and cells in the tubes to heat to 37 degrees and then adding that time to the incubation time stated in the manufacturer's inserts for each procedure. Does anyone do this? I don't know where we got the procedure because it isn't in the current technical manual.

[Likewine99]

Just temps once a day, done on day shift.

Never heard of checking time to reach 37 degrees. Do you guys have too much time on yor hands :-????

[tbostock]

Same as Likewine99...and yes, I agree, you don't need to do that additional QC for incubation time.

[L106]

Same here.

[clmergen]

I think someone overthought that process. We only do temps once per day like the rest.

[mcgouc]

In the mid 70's, I worked at a hospital that incubated the tubes in a 37C waterbath. There was a reference (don't remember) that you had to add time (I think it was 5 minutes) to the incubation if you used heat blocks instead of water baths because it took longer for tubes in incubators to reach temperature. So they incubated in a waterbath to save the 5 minutes. That may be where this procedure originated.

We also performed screens in duplicate, leaving one set at room temperature for 15 minutes; did a 15 minute room temperature saline crossmatch in addition to the AHG (polyspecific, of course) crossmatch; and performed minor crossmatches. Can't even imagine doing that now!

Obvously, I am too old to be doing this job!

[adiescast]

We did perform an initial validation to demontrate that all wells in the heatblock were at the appropriate temperature and that a couple of antibodies, when incubated for the prescribed length of time, showed the appropriate level of reactivity. After that - daily temperatures.

[Eagle Eye]

temp. once a day but we do move tubes to different location every day .

[FRahman]

we just do the temp heck on each shift.

[kate murphy]

I would think that checking how long it takes to reach temp would be part of a one-time validation, then just take temps daily.

We do the same as stated here - temps daily in a different well each day.

[jeanne.wall]

In the mid 70's, I worked at a hospital that incubated the tubes in a 37C waterbath. There was a reference (don't remember) that you had to add time (I think it was 5 minutes) to the incubation if you used heat blocks instead of water baths because it took longer for tubes in incubators to reach temperature. So they incubated in a waterbath to save the 5 minutes. That may be where this procedure originated.

We also performed screens in duplicate, leaving one set at room temperature for 15 minutes; did a 15 minute room temperature saline crossmatch in addition to the AHG (polyspecific, of course) crossmatch; and performed minor crossmatches. Can't even imagine doing that now!

Obvously, I am too old to be doing this job!

Oh - those were the days!

[Eoin]

Validation (or re-qualification if after a move etc) and then it is monitored on the REES Centron temp monitoring system.

If temp stays the same, time to reach temp stays the same for the same type of tube used in the Validation proces - change tubes and you will have to re-do operational qualification only.

Cheers

Eoin