Dear health care providers,

We are pleased to share an update on our fall and winter plans to gradually replace the Roche Cobas and Abbott Architect analyzers used nationally for chemistry testing.  The testing performed on these analyzers includes clinical chemistry, immunoassays, and infectious disease (serology) assays at LifeLabs sites in Ontario. We are moving to the Abbott Alinity testing platform for these assays.

The first phase of this process took place in August 2022 with the move of Hepatitis and Rubella serology tests to the new Abbott Alinity i platform.

In the second phase, a number of immunoassays will transition to the Abbott Alinity i platform between October 24^th, 2022 and November 30^th, 2022.  Table 1 on page 2 provides a list of immunoassay tests that will be moving to the new testing platform, along with a description of notable changes.

Method validations were performed for all the immunoassays (noted in the Table below) at LifeLabs to ensure the assays meet our clinical requirements. The test results on the new analyzers compare well with our current platform.  A temporary notification will be included with all test results indicating a change in testing platform and highlighting any other significant changes (as applicable and described in Table 1 on page 2). This notification will be provided for 3 months from the date of implementation. Please note, minor updates to interpretive comments for some of the tests will also be implemented to align with current clinical guidelines and improve interpretation of laboratory results.

We will update you on additional changes impacting the LifeLabs chemistry testing as we get closer to the next phase of implementation in early 2023. For any clinical or technical questions regarding this change please contact the following LifeLabs biochemists:

Thank you,

Dr. Catherine Ross, MD, MSc, FRCPC

Medical Director, ON

T   647-943-2413 Ext: 42980

Table 1. Tests that are being transferred to the Abbott Alinity i platform in October 2022: