Developing and Communicating Effective Process Control Algorithms for the Clinical Laboratory

George V. Woodrow III

Abstract

Today's clinical laboratory is highly automated, but its traditional Quality Control practices are hardly changed from the days of manual testing. I have used Mathematica (since version 1.1) to develop modern process control algorithms. Explaining how these algorithms work to non-technical people has been a real challenge. With the advent of interactive graphics in Mathematica 6, I have been able to develop material so that laboratory personnel can see and explore how the math works. ‘Showing’ has proven to be much more effective than just ‘telling’.
This talk will present examples of how the Manipulate[] functionality can be used to explore the true performance of traditional Quality control practices.