Deck 4: Instrumentation, Laboratory Automation, and Informatics

Question 1

Amplitude of the electromagnetic sine wave is defined as:

A) The length of the electronic vector at one-half peak width.
B) The width of the electronic vector at maximum peak height.
C) The length of the electronic vector at maximum peak height.
D) The area under the sine wave.

Answer 1

The length of the electronic vector at maximum peak height.

Question 2

What is the concentration of serum uric acid in a solution whose absorbance is 0.098, cuvet pathlength, 1.0 centimeters, absorptivity is 0.102 L g^-1cm^-1?

A) 0.96 mg/L
B) 0.009 g/L
C) 0.48 g/L
D) 1.96 g/L

Answer 2

0.96 mg/L

Question 3

What is the concentration of creatinine in a serum sample if given the following?
A_test = 0.150
A_standard = 0.90
C_standard = 1.0 mg/dL

A) 0.25 mg/dL
B) 0.5 mg/dL
C) 0.7 mg/dL
D) 0.167 mg/dL

Answer 3

0.167 mg/dL

Question 4

Which of the following types of light sources emits radiation that changes in intensity very slowly as a function of wavelength?

A) Pulsating source
B) Line source
C) Continuum source
D) Microwave source

Question 5

Filters and diffraction gratings are examples of which of the following?

A) Monochromators
B) Cuvettes
C) Light sources
D) Slits

Question 6

The wavelength in nanometers at peak transmittance is termed:

A) Spectral bandwidth.
B) Stray light.
C) Nominal wavelength.
D) Electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 7

Bandpass is defined as:

A) The range of wavelengths at a point halfway between the baseline and the peak.
B) The half power point or full width at half maximum.
C) The total range of wavelengths transmitted.
D) The product of parallel beams of radiation.

Question 8

A photomultiplier tube functions to:

A) Reduce the electronic signal produced as photons cascade from dynode to dynode.
B) Increase the electronic signal produced as photons cascade from dynode to dynode.
C) Decrease the number of transmitted photons from the cuvette.
D) Reduce in a logarithmic fashion the electronic signal created at the cathode.

Question 9

Didymium and holmium oxide filters are used to assess:

A) Wavelength accuracy.
B) Voltage values.
C) Stray light.
D) Photometric accuracy.

Question 10

Which of the following is a cause of stray light failure in a spectrophotomer?

A) Fingerprints on a cuvette
B) Misaligned monochromator
C) Room light entering the spectrophotometer and impinging upon the detector
D) A dirty holmium oxide filter

Question 11

Light reflecting off a urine dipstick absorbent surface is an example of which of the following?

A) Specular reflectance
B) Diffuse reflectance
C) Refractance
D) Chemiluminescence

Question 12

Which of the following describes atomic absorption spectroscopy?

A) The transmittance of monochromatic electromagnetic radiation by an element in its excited state
B) The measurement of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by an element
C) The release of electromagnetic radiation due to a chemical reaction
D) The absorption of monochromatic electromagnetic radiation by an element in its ground state with a net zero charge

Question 13

Which of the following statements best illustrates the difference between photons from fluorescent emission and the excitation photons?

A) Emission photons are higher energy and longer wavelength.
B) Emission photons are lower energy and longer wavelength.
C) Emission photons are lower energy and shorter wavelength.
D) Emission photons are negatively charged and have zero mass.

Question 14

The polarization of light in fluorescent polarization immunoassay allows the measurement of which of the following?

A) Bound fraction in the presence of the free fraction
B) Only the bound fraction after the free fraction is removed
C) Both bound and free fractions
D) Antibodies to fluorescent label

Question 15

A chelate of europium (Eu³⁺) is used in which of the following assays?

A) Radioimmunoassays
B) Chemiluminescent immunoassays
C) Time-resolved fluorescent immunoassays
D) Fluorescent polarization immunoassays

Question 16

Oxidation of acridinium esters by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of peroxidase produces which of the following?

A) Fluorescence
B) Phosphorescence
C) Translucence
D) Chemiluminescence

Question 17

Turbidimetry is the measurement of the reduction in light transmission caused by:

A) Particle formation.
B) Chelation of metals.
C) Slowing of the spin rotation of electrons.
D) Increase in excitation photon energy.

Question 18

The presence of particulates in a urine sample measured by a refractometer will result in which of the following?

A) An increase in reflectance of the solution
B) A change in the critical angle of the light as it passes through the solution
C) An increase in energy of the solute particles that results in a release of light energy
D) A change in Rayleigh scatter patterns

Question 19

Which of the following accounts for the temperature rise in freezing point osmometry?

A) Heat of separation
B) Thermal currents flowing through the ethylene glycol
C) Heat of fusion
D) Heat of conduction

Question 20

Which of the following electrical devices senses the freezing point of a solution in an osmometer?

A) A pH electrode
B) A pressure transducer
C) A conductivity electrode
D) A thermistor

Question 21

Throughput is defined as:

A) Numbers of tests performed per hour.
B) Number of stat tests performed per hour.
C) Number of specimen processed per 24 hours.
D) Number of sample aspirations performed in 60 seconds.

Question 22

Which of the following statements best describes discrete testing?

A) Automatically measures up to 10 different analytes on a serum specimen whether they are requested or not
B) Measures only the test requested on a sample
C) Measures analytes in serum samples only
D) Automatically measures all of the tests that the analyzer is capable of performing

Question 23

Any specimen, by a command to the processing systems, can be analyzed by any available process, in or out of sequence with other specimens, and without regard to their initial order describes which type of sample processing principle?

A) Batch and discrete analysis
B) Centrifugal analysis
C) Continuous flow analysis
D) Random access analysis

Question 24

A designated area where a limited number of specific tasks are completed describes which of the following terms?

A) Work area
B) Work station
C) Work room
D) Core laboratory

Question 25

Which of the following devices is suitable to detect clots in serum specimens?

A) Aggregometer
B) Refractometer
C) Luminometer
D) Pressure transducer

Question 26

A glucose result is falsely elevated and it was discovered that the previous sample on the sample carousel has abnormally high serum glucose. Which of the following can cause this error?

A) Pipetting an extra volume of diluents into the sample with the falsely elevated glucose
B) Carryover
C) A leak in the reagent-dispensing probe
D) Double pipetting of the sample with the elevated glucose result

Question 27

Which of the following statements best describes unit test reagents?

A) There is an abundance of reagent present for the performance of several tests.
B) There is exactly twice the amount of reagent present for the performance of a single test.
C) There is sufficient reagent present for the performance of a single test.
D) There is only eight hours of reagent present to perform the tests requested.

Question 28

Which of the following represents a disadvantage to acquiring and implementing total laboratory automation?

A) Increases labeling errors
B) Increases turnaround times
C) Increases the need for additional full time equivalents (FTEs)
D) The initial costs are very high.

Question 29

Increase test throughput, reduce turnaround time, and compensate for staff shortages are all examples of which of the following?

A) Factors that lead to more errors
B) Factors that drive manual procedures
C) Management options used to reduce the number of technologist in the laboratory
D) Factors that drive automation

Question 30

Automating laboratory testing has resulted in which of the following?

A) Inconsistent sample processing errors
B) A reduction in the number of laboratory errors
C) Increased turnaround time
D) Increased repetitive injuries

Question 31

Which of the following is an example of software that allows a laboratory to connect their existing LIS and instrumentation to facilitate sharing information and performs tasks not currently done with laboratories' existing hardware and software?

A) Middleware
B) LIS-HIS interface
C) RS232 software
D) Computer operating system

Question 32

Direct tube sampling by automated analyzers eliminates the need to perform which of the following tasks?

A) Pour off specimens into another container
B) Manual dilution of specimens
C) Check for clots in specimens
D) Check for proper sample volume

Question 33

A test menu is:

A) A listing of all the reagents on-board the analyzer.
B) A listing of preventative maintenance tasks that needs to be performed.
C) A listing of all of the tests or analytes that the instrument is capable of measuring.
D) A listing of consumables used by the analyzer.