Sample Collection and Transport

Safe and hygenic collection and transportation of faecal matter and sample handling can be problematic. However with the right products, it’s possible to provide an assured service that meets regulatory standards.

Alpha Laboratories CALEX® Patient Pack

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new patient collection kits for faecal calprotectin testing. Each kit is discretely packaged in a business style envelope with a CALEX extraction device, a patient specific instruction for use with integral label (name, DOB and sample collection date) and a clear grip seal bag for return of the CALEX and the request form back to the laboratory or GP as currently with the existing stool pot method.

Receiving the ready prepared CALEX, rather than a stool sample that requires further processing for extraction, will release huge amounts of resource in the laboratory, transforming the workflow.

BÜHLMANN CALEX® Cap Collection Set – Faecal Extraction Home Kit

The BÜHLMANN CALEX® Cap is the first and only stool extraction device certified for safe air and road transportation according to IATA 650 (UN3373) regulations. This means it can be safely mailed from a patient’s home. The introduction of the new Feacal Extraction Home Kit allows for a quality ready extracted sample for the laboratory, and revolutionises the workflow of stool testing in terms of speed, efficiency and cost savings.

The simple to use patient kit includes a buffer filled CALEX® Cap tube containing viricide and bactericide components, stool collection sheets, a user guide and plastic bag with patient label. The sample in the CALEX can be used for analysis of both faecal calprotectin and elastase.

Fe-Col – Sample Collection Made Simple

Fe-Col makes stool collection easy and hygienic

Fe-Col papers provide a simple, easy-to-use, efficient and hygienic stool collection method. For patients they offer a quick, simple solution to a frustrating and potentially messy problem. For the laboratory testing the faeces, they prevent the risk of sample contamination, ensuring fewer test errors.

Faeces are tested for a variety of reasons, most commonly for the determination of the presence of bacteria or parasites, for fat content, for faecal occult blood which can indicate bowel cancer and for Calprotectin which can help discriminate between Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Unlike most other laboratory tests, stool samples are normally collected by the patient at home. However, many people find this collection process difficult, unpleasant and unhygienic to perform. Cling film, paper plates, and copious amounts of toilet paper are the most commonly used methods, but these are then difficult to dispose of and may cause plumbing blockages.

More than 50% of patients responding to screening take a stool sample directly from the toilet bowl. Sampling a stool from the toilet basin is technically difficult, but also creates potential measurement errors, due to loss of content from the stool into the surrounding water, or contamination from toilet sanitisers and toilet water additives.

The Fe-Col device has been developed to solve these problems: a unique, disposable stool collector, which is easily and securely placed on the toilet and can be totally flushed away after use.

Sample Transportation

UN3373 Envelope

In the modern medical environment, thousands of patient samples need to be transported from their point of collection, to a testing laboratory for analysis.

Getting things safely through the post can be problematic, so packing and mailing of patient samples needs careful handling and adherence to regulations.

Category B, faecal samples must be transported under guidelines issued by the World Health Organization using P650 packaging instructions, to UN3373 standards.

To date laboratory personnel have had to fashion various packaging solutions to meet the UN3373 requirements to transport patient samples. These include wrapping the primary container in an absorbent material, placing this in a sealed plastic bag and then putting all this into a rigid box. This requires multiple materials and can result in mailing packages being of considerable size, increasing the cost of postage.

Collection & Transport of Stool Samples

Whether you are sending stool samples for faecal calprotectin testing by road or air, Alpha Laboratories has everything you need to meet the demands of UN3373 P650 packaging instructions.

1. Faecal Sample Collection

2. Primary Sample Containment

3. Secondary Packaging Solutions

4. Outer Packaging Solutions