Reliable, fast and easy – IFA diagnostics in rheumatology

With passion for rheumatology!

Indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) such as for anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) testing are an important diagnostic tool in rheumatology. However, manual processing and evaluation of IFAs requires trained professionals and a lot of time. With innovative solutions and modern technologies, EUROIMMUN makes an important contribution to continuous development in immunofluorescence diagnostics and thus increases reliability, efficiency and standardisation.

Reliable quality

One of EUROIMMUN’s first pioneering achievements was the development of the BIOCHIP technology in 1983. Carrier glasses that are just a few millimetres in size and coated with cells, tissue sections or purified antigens are selected by hand and combined to BIOCHIP mosaics on specifically developed slides. Thanks to the unique TITERPLANE technology, they can be incubated at the same time and under uniform conditions. Depending on the substrate combination on the mosaics, comprehensive antibody profiles for specific indications can be created.

Faster processing

Pipetting, washing, incubation – there is a suitable instrument for any requirement ranging from automated systems for small sample throughputs to high-throughput instruments such as the EUROLabWorkstation IFA. This allows to increase productivity as well as standardisation of all immunofluorescence analyses.

The development of automated immunofluorescence microscopy enabled evaluation based on high-quality fluorescence images on the screen and outside of the darkroom. The highest throughput requirements are fulfilled by the EUROPattern Microscope with a capacity of 500 reaction fields per run. Especially high speeds are achieved using the compact EUROPattern Microscope Live: With ultrafast auto-focussing and a novel laser technology it produces images in a record time of 2 seconds.

The UNIQO 160 is the next generation of full IFA automation. This all-in-one solution maximises the efficiency of the whole IFA process by minimising hands-on time and offers brilliant fluorescence images due to automatically mounted slides and the integrated high-quality microscope unit.

Easier evaluation

The EUROPattern Classifier supports the evaluation of IFA images. The high-performance classification software, which uses deep convolutional neural networks trained during the development of the software, generates result proposals including fluorescence pattern classification and titer calculation. In addition to its use in ANA diagnostics with pattern recognition of nine different fluorescence patterns according to ICAP¹ (including their possible combinations), the software is available for a growing number of cell and tissue substrates.

Comprehensive connections

Via an interface to the middleware EUROLabOffice 4.0, diagnostic laboratories can seamlessly integrate IFA diagnostics including automation solutions as well as all other techniques such as ELISA and immunoblot into one efficient workflow. The laboratory management software also connects the laboratory information system (LIS) with all work stations and makes evaluation easier thanks to a clear presentation of all test results and the patient’s history.

The demanding IFA evaluation process can be supported by the use of EUROLabPolaris. The cross-site platform enables IFA image transmission and the central evaluation at another site. In the case of exceptional challenges such as rare or inconclusive patterns, the platform also allows to transmit the IFA images to specialists at EUROIMMUN for analysis. The image descriptions they provide can then easily be retrieved via EUROLabPolaris.

¹ International Consensus on ANA Patterns

Find out more about our portfolio for rheumatology diagnostics and get an overview of our method range and the associated automated systems. Together we will find the right solutions for your laboratory!