Artel Launches Learning Center Initiative to Improve Pipetting Knowledge and Skills in the Lab
Artel Offers Sneak Peek of New Web-Based Tools at AACC
Westbrook, ME (July 15, 2011) - At this year's American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo (July 24 - 28 in Atlanta, Georgia), Artel, the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance, will unveil the Artel Learning Center, featuring webinars aimed at laboratory professionals dealing with liquid handling.
Artel is already well-known for its on-site pipetting proficiency training and quality management certification seminars, which provide laboratory professionals with a better understanding of the strong impact operator technique can have on liquid handling quality and, in turn, the reliability of test results. With the Artel Learning Center, laboratories will be able to access Artel's vast resource library of lab reports, publications, presentations, case studies and other literature related to liquid handling for pipettes and automated liquid handlers, as well as engage with educational webinars that can help enhance operator competency and strengthen the integrity of test results. Artel's webinars are convenient training methods that promote staff education without leaving the workplace.
"Working with manufacturers and users of all types of liquid handling instrumentation, from automated liquid handlers to handheld single-channel pipettes, we've amassed significant knowledge about ensuring volume accuracy and precision and quality results," said Kirby Pilcher, President of Artel. "We are proud to now make this knowledge available in one place through the Artel Learning Center. Our aim is to develop and strengthen laboratory technician skills, spreading best practices and enhancing confidence in results."
The newest resource within the Artel Learning Center is a webinar entitled "Best Practices in Manual Pipetting," which will focus on proper pipetting technique. In addition to learning how pipettes work and fail, webinar participants will be trained on to standardize pipetting technique to mitigate operators as sources of errors, and will get an overview of pipetting ergonomics.
To underscore the importance of proper pipetting skills and the impact improper technique can have on results, Artel will also host the Pipetting Olympics at its booth (#1020) during AACC. The competition, which has become an AACC tradition,awards participants with superior pipetting skills. The accuracy and precision of volume dispenses are measured in the booth by the Artel PCS® Pipette Calibration System. Competitors achieving the lowest coefficient of variation (CV) while pipetting are awarded Olympic-style medals.
At this year's AACC, Artel has opened the competition to teams, allowing groups to compete for a chance to win a series of prizes.
Laboratory professionals interested in accessing the resources of the Artel Learning Center can do so by visiting the website, www.artel-usa.com/learning_center.aspx.
About Artel
Artel is the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance. Artel manufactures the most accurate, precise and easy-to-use systems for ensuring data integrity in any process requiring liquid volume measurement. Artel systems, based on proprietary Ratiometric Photometry, conform to ISO 8655-7 and provide results traceable to national and international standards to ensure reproducible data and regulatory compliance. In addition, Artel provides liquid handling quality assurance support and consultation services including on-site Pipetting Technique Training and Quality Management Certification for pipette users and laboratory managers, and Liquid Handler Performance Verification services for automated laboratories. Since 1982, Artel technology has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories including pharmaceutical, clinical, forensic, public health and environmental. Leading institutions such as Amgen, ARUP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Centers for Disease Control, DuPont, Eli Lilly, FBI, Genentech, Genomic Health, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Merck, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble and U.S. FDA depends on Artel technology to help them meet their objectives for quality and productivity. For more information, contact Artel at 25 Bradley Drive, Westbrook, ME 04092; Tel: 207-854-0860; Fax: 207-854-0867; Website: www.artel-usa.com.
