A rapid microtitre plate screening method for in vitro assessment of fibrinolysis: a preliminary report

A novel and precise assay that facilitates high-throughput screening of fibrinolytic agents was developed based on the automated assessment of the euglobulin clot lysis time in microtitre plates. Euglobulin fractions from fresh plasma samples were assessed over 28 days to determine the inter-assay and intra-assay precision. The intra-assay (coefficient of variation range, 0.7-2.6%) and inter-assay precision (coefficient of variation range, 6.8-12.1%) was found to be well within limits required by the Food and Drug Administration. On day 1 and day 28, the results of the microtitre plate euglobulin clot lysis time method were compared with tissue plasminogen activator activity, plasminogen activator inhibitor activity and results produced on fibrin plates. All comparisons were found to correlate significantly. The validity of this method for assaying fibrinolytic agents was assessed by comparing dose-response curves for streptokinase produced using fibrin plates and this method. The critical influence of ambient temperature on the inter-assay reproducibility of this method was established by testing samples over a range of temperatures between 20degreesC and 40degreesC. (C) 2004 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Comparison between real-time three-dimensional echocardiography, T1-201 single photon emission computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in the quantitative assessment of left ventricular volumes

Left ventricular (LV) volumes have important prognostic implications in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease. We sought to examine the accuracy and reproducibility of real-time 3D echo (RT-3DE) compared to TI-201 single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Thirty (n = 30) patients (age 62±9 years, 23 men) with chronic ischemic heart disease underwent LV volume assessment with RT-3DE, SPECT, and MRI. Ano vel semi-automated border detection algorithmwas used by RT-3DE. End diastolic volumes (EDV) and end systolic volumes (ESV) measured by RT3DE and SPECT were compared to MRI as the standard of reference. RT-3DE and SPECT volumes showed excellent correlation with MRI (Table). Both RT- 3DE and SPECT underestimated LV volumes compared to MRI (ESV, SPECT 74±58 ml versus RT-3DE 95±48 ml versus MRI 96±54 ml); (EDV, SPECT 121±61 ml versus RT-3DE 169±61 ml versus MRI 179±56 ml). The degree of ESV underestimation with RT-3DE was not significant.