Ref4U reference laboratory

Ref4U continues the activities of the former Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, led by Professor Emeritus Linda Thienpont (publications).

All these activities support the efforts to develop and implement a measurement infrastructure for SI-traceable "measurands" in Laboratory Medicine (EN/ISO 17511).

Ref4U, as a reference laboratory, has expertise in conducting SI-traceable reference measurement procedures, listed in the database of the "Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM)". It offers services to the In Vitro Diagnostic industry, metrological institutes, organizers of external quality assessment and other interested parties. An overview of these services, including the associated reference measurement procedures, is given in the JCTLM database.

For these measurement services Ref4U is accredited by BELAC (ISO 17025 and ISO 15195), see also the certificate with accompanying scope. For more information, contact Katleen Van Uytfanghe, responsible for the quality management and operational manager of Ref4U.

Additional research activities are focused on developing, validating and applying accuracy-based (SI-traceable) reference measurement procedures for substrates, metabolites, total and free steroid and thyroid hormones, 25 hydroxyvitamin D, peptides and proteins in serum. All reference measurement procedures are based on isotope dilution – mass spectrometry, in combination with extensive sample preparation procedures. Further interests of Ref4U are statistical and graphical techniques for the interpretation of method validation and method comparison.

Current research focusses on the activities within the frame work of the Committee for Standardization of Thyroid Function Tests (C-STFT) of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), for which Ref4U hosts the scientific secretariat.