A New & Novel Method for the Measurement of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is Now Available

RARITAN, N.J., Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Ortho), a global leader of in vitro diagnostics, today announced the launch of VITROS^® ALTV Slides, a new and novel method for the measurement of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a key liver function enzyme found in serum and plasma, utilizing dry slide technology.

ALT is used in the diagnosis and treatment of certain liver diseases (e.g., viral hepatitis and cirrhosis) as well as heart diseases. Due to its distribution primarily in the liver, elevated ALT levels are highly suggestive of liver damage, and ALT measurements are particularly useful in the diagnosis and management of liver disease.

Because it is available using dry slide technology, VITROS ALTV Slides confers several operational and clinical advantages for the clinical laboratory and physicians, including low patient sample volumes needed for testing, extended calibration stability and minimal storage space requirements, along with excellent precision performance and low-end sensitivity.  Dry slide technology is unique in that it does not require water, plumbing and drains, or the need to dispose of water as medical waste.  It also eliminates the need for high quality water as a requirement for testing. This "waterless" environment makes dry slide technology ideal for a broad array of testing environments.

"This addition demonstrates Ortho's renewed commitment to ongoing innovation and improvements to our dry slide technology," said Robert Yates, chief operating officer for Ortho. "With the VITROS^® ALTV Slides, we are providing a menu that spans key disease state areas with world-class assays that provide high value and exceptional performance to clinicians, patients and laboratories."

According to Dr. Fernando Chaves, Ortho's global head of medical and scientific affairs, "having a very high quality ALT liver function screening test to assist physicians in diagnosis and treatment is critically important, as liver disease rates have been steadily increasing over the years. The worldwide prevalence of people with chronic hepatitis C is estimated at 130-150 million people, with 350,000-500,000 deaths due to HCV related complications per year. Many of those infected are unaware. In addition, the estimated global prevalence of cirrhosis alone ranges from 4.5 to 9.5 percent of the general population and is likely underestimated as almost a third of the patients remain asymptomatic."

The launch of VITROS^® ALTV Slides closely follows the launch of the new VITROS^® Chemistry Products LDHI Slides and the addition of a urine application to the VITROS^® Chemistry Products Cl^- Slides.

Customers can contact their local Ortho account teams to learn more about the advantages that the new VITROS^® ALTV Slides and VITROS^® Systems can provide.

About Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics is a global leader of in vitro diagnostics serving the clinical laboratory and immunohematology communities. Across hospitals, hospital networks, blood banks and labs in more than 125 countries and territories, Ortho's high-quality products and services enable health care professionals to make better-informed treatment decisions. For the immunohematology community, Ortho's blood typing products help ensure every patient receives blood that is safe, the right type and the right unit. Ortho brings sophisticated testing technologies, automation, information management and interpretation tools to clinical laboratories around the world to help them run more efficiently and effectively and improve patient care. Ortho's purpose is to improve and save lives with diagnostics, and it does that by reimagining what's possible. This is what has defined Ortho for more than 75 years, and it's what drives Ortho forward. For more information, visit www.orthoclinicaldiagnostics.com.

© Ortho Clinical Diagnostics 2017

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SOURCE Ortho Clinical Diagnostics