Axis-Shield launches Afinion ACR Ratio Test for Diabetic Monitoring

Axis-Shield, the international in-vitro diagnostics company, today announces the European launch of a third marker on its award-winning new point-of-care system Afinion™.

The new Albumin/Creatinine Ratio (ACR) test will complement the successful Afinion™ HbA1c assay used for front line monitoring of diabetic blood glucose control in primary healthcare. The new assay measures the ACR in urine and is a measure of renal function and cardiovascular complications that may occur in individuals with poorly controlled diabetes. Many authorities recommend the use of both HbA1c and ACR on a regular basis to monitor disease progression.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes and that this number is likely to more than double by 2030. It is generally agreed that HbA1c blood levels should be tested four times a year in people with Type I diabetes and twice yearly in those with Type II diabetes. ACR testing of urine avoids the need for a cumbersome and inconvenient 24 hour urine test and is recommended once a year for all people with diabetes.

Svein Lien, Axis-Shield CEO, commented: “We are pleased to make this new test available, thus giving physicians two important tests to monitor the efficacy of glucose control in their diabetes patients without the need to send samples off to a central laboratory, thereby significantly improving the speed and quality of patient care. Afinion™ is rapidly being recognised as an important addition to effective testing at the point of care and we look forward to the introduction of further tests on this versatile system.”