The Newsletter of the Asia-Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry
and Laboratory Medicine for circulation among APFCB and IFCC members
onlyAPFCB News 2015
Publication Team, 2016 Issue 2
Chief Editor

Praveen Sharma
Jodhpur, India
praveensharma55@gmail.com

Immediate past
Chief Editor

Joseph B Lopez
Kuala lumpur, Malaysia
jblopez2611@gmail.com

General andCase Studies Editors

Leslie Lai
Kuala lumpur, Malaysia
lesliecharleslai@gmail.com

APFCB News 2016
APFCB Executive Board and Chairmanof Committees, Elected October, 2013
Executive Board
President

Leslie C Lai
Consultant Chemical Pathologist,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
lesliecharleslai@gmail.com

Immediate Past

Joseph B Lopez

President

MAHSA University College

Tester Ashavaid
Mumbai, India
dr_tashavaid@hindujahospital.com

Assistant Editor

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
jblopez2611@gmail.com

Aysha Habib
Karachi, Pakistan
aysha.habib@aku.edu

Vice-President

Sunil K Sethi
National University Hospital, Singapore
patsks@nus.edu.sg

Purvi Purohit
Jodhpur, India
dr.purvipurohit@gmail.com

Secretary

Endang Hoyaranda
Prodia, Jakarta, Indonesia
ehoya@prodia.co.id

Treasurer

Elizabeth Frank
Biochem Diagnostic Laboratory,
Mysore, India

Corporate Representative

Dr. Alexender Wong
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Holding
GmbH, Germany
alexander.wong@siemens.com

APFCB Membership
Members

Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB)
Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI)
Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Sri Lanka (ACBSL)
Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine (CSLM)
Chinese Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Taiwan (CACB)
Hong Kong Society of Clinical Chemistry (HKSCC)
Indonesian Association for Clinical Chemistry (IACC)
Iranian Association of Clinical Laboratory Doctors (IACLD)
Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry (KSCC)
Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemistry (MACB)
Mongolian Association of Health Laboratories (MAHL)
Nepal Association for Medical Laboratory Sciences (NAMLS)
Pakistan Society of Chemical Pathologists (PSCP)
Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)
Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemistry (SACB)
Thailand Association of Clinical Biochemists (TACB)
Vietnamese Association of Clinical Biochemistry (VACB)

Corporate Members
Abbott Diagnostics
BD Diagnostics
Beckman Coulter
Bio-RadDiasorin Ltd
Diasys Diagnostic Systems, GmbH
Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co
Kopran Laboratories Ltd
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics
Randox Laboratories
Roche Diagnostics
Sekisui Chemical Co
Shenzen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Siemens
SNIBE (Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering Co Ltd)Sukraa Software Solution Pvt Ltd
SysmexTechnidata Medical Software

Affiliate Members
Association of Medical Biochemists of India (AMBI)
College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka (CCPSL)
Chinese Association of Clinical Laboratory Management (CACLM)
Macao Laboratory Medicine Association (MLMA)
Nepalese association of Clinical Chemistry (NACC)
Philippine Council for Quality Assurance in Clinical- Laboratories(PCQACL)

Chairman of Committees
Communications

Praveen Sharma
All India institute of Medical Sciences
Jodhpur, India
praveensharma55@gmail.com

Education & Laboratory
Management

Tony Badrick
Brisbane, Australia
Tony_Badrick@snp.com.au

Scientific

Kiyoshi Ichihara
ichihara@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp

Congress andConference

Joseph Lopez
jblopez2611@gmail.com

Submissions
The APFCB News welcomes suitable contributions for publication.
These should be sent electronically to the Chief Editor. Statements ofopinions are those of the contributors and are not to be construed as
official statements, evaluations or endorsements by the APFCB or its
official bodies.
Cover page: " Lupine - A Souvenir from Birmingham".
Contributed by Tan It Koon
Founding and Past President APFCB

Address

The registered address of APFCB is as follows:
APFCB, c/o Solid Track Management Pte Ltd.
150 Cecil Street, #10-06, Singapore 069543
Tel: 6223 9118 Fax: 6223 9131

APFCB News 2016

Contents
From the desk of Chief Editor - Praveen Sharma
Message from APFCB President - Leslie Charles Lai
Message by In-coming President – Sunil Sethi

01
02
03

APFCB Activities
APFCB Annual Report for 2016 - Leslie Charles Lai
APFCB Congress 2016 report - Woei-horng Fang
APFCB and MACB Collaborate for First Regional Chemical Pathology Course - Joseph Lopez
Scientific Collaborations in APFCB so far and way forward by - Kiyoshi Ichihara
APFCB-Roche LEAN Clinical Laboratory Workshops - Tony Badrick

04
22
29
31
39

IFCC Activities
IFCC - Task Force Young Scientists (TFYS) At APFCB 2016, Taipei Taiwan 27th Nov 201641

IFCC - Task Force Young Scientists (TFYS) ACBICON-2016, Manipal University, Mangaluru, India
12-15 December 201643

Member Societies- Annual activities reports 2016
Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI)
Hong Kong Society of Clinical Chemistry (HKSCC)
Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry (KSCC)
Indonesian Association for Clinical Chemistry (IACC)
Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
Malaysian Association Of Clinical Biochemists (MACB)

47
57
61
63
67
68

Corporate Corner
Snibe - Performance of Maglumi hs-cTnI (CLIA method)
Roche Efficiency Day (RED) 2016: Voyage through Quality, Speed and Cost

72
75

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

From the desk of Chief Editor…
Dear Colleagues,
Greetings!
It is with a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that I am before you with this annual issueof APFCB News. It is my pleasure to come back to you with the new issue of APFCB news
2015.
This issue is special in a way since it is the last annual issue of APFCB news; henceforth the
APFCB news shall be published biannually. It is due to the constant and unfailing efforts of al
the member societies and the corporate that the APFCB news has become a successful andmuch awaited annual publication of APFCB.
I very much look forward to your sustained support in future to maintain APFCB website as avery interactive and well updated representing the active picture of APFCB and reflecting its
activities. So friends, please use this forum effectively to share your progress, achievements
and your thoughts and contributions on different issues related to the clinical biochemistry
and laboratory medicine disciplines. My team shall be extremely pleased to hear from you
and this shall make the APFCB community well communicated.
This issue features a special article on Tan It Koon, the founding president of APFCB, who has
been a constant source of inspiration and has been actively involved in all the issues of APFCB
news till date by contributing his marvelous art work as cover page. Once again the cover
page of the current issue is an exemplary piece of art by Dr Koon, symbolizing the blending ofcreative spirits and science.
Endeavoring further to fulfill of my commitments as chief editor. I shall steadfastly continue
my dedicated efforts to raise APFCB news to further heights.

Praveen Sharma
Chief Editor

1

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

Message from APFCB President…
Greetings to one and all.
This will be my very last message to you as President of the APFCB. The new Executive Board
begins its term of office on 1st January 2017 for a term of three years.
The new Executive Board is as follows:
President
Immediate Past President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Corporate Representative

Sunil Sethi (Singapore)
Leslie Lai (Malaysia)
Endang Hoyaranda (Indonesia)
Helen Martin (Australia)
Leila Floren to (Philippines)
Alexander Wong (Siemens)

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the outgoing APFCB Executive Board members, Chairs ofStanding Committees and working groups, all committee and working group members for yourcommitment and dedication to the APFCB which has led to the marked growth in activities of the
APFCB during the six years that I was President of the APFCB. All these activities are detailed in theannual reports available on the APFCB website. I would also like to thank all Ordinary and Affiliate
member societies and our Corporate members for your support to the APFCB which has contributed
substantially to the growth of the APFCB and helped us to realize our goals of improving the practice ofclinical biochemistry and laboratory medicine in the Asia-Pacific region.
Congratulations to Professor Woei- Horng Fang, Chair of the Congress Organising Committee for the
14th APFCB Congress and his committee members for having done such an excellent job. The APFCB
congress held in Taipei from 26th till 29th November 2016 was a resounding success and will remain in
our memories for many years to come.
The 15th APFCB Congress will be in Jaipur, India and the Chair of the Organising Committee is
Professor Praveen Sharma. I am certain that the 15th APFCB Congress will be an excellent congresssince Professor Praveen Sharma is at the helm. He and his committee members have already begun
work planning for the 15th APFCB Congress. The 16th APFCB Congress will be in Sydney, Australia in
2022. Thereafter, the APFCB Congress will be held every two years and the term of the Executive
Board will be two years.
From 1st January 2018 there will be a regional federation representative from each regional federationon the IFCC Executive Board. The call for nominations will be made later in 2017 to all IFCC member
societies who must also be members of regional federations if they are to be allowed to nominate andvote for the regional federation representative to the IFCC. The regional federation representatives
should hopefully be elected by the end of September 2017.
The AACC has begun a Quality Initiative Programme within the Asia-Pacific Region. AACC plans to
conduct three workshops on quality in 2018 in Vietnam, Nepal and Sri Lanka and will also conduct a
pre-congress workshop at the 15th APFCB Congress in Jaipur in 2019.
It certainly has been an honor for me to have served the APFCB for the past 12 years, first as Chair of
the Education Committee from 1998 till 2004, then as Vice President from 2004 till 2010 and as
President from 2010 till the end of 2016. I would like to wish the new Executive Board members all thevery best.
I am convinced that under your leadership the APFCB will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Best wishes
Dr Leslie Charles Lai
President, APFCB2

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

Message by In-coming
President - Sunil Sethi
The Asia Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry andLaboratory Medicine (APFCB) in 2017
The Asia Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (APFCB) had
its humble beginnings in the late 1970s. Today in 2017, after forty years of growth anddevelopment, the APFCB is a massive regional federation with 18 full Ordinary Members, 6Affiliate Members and 18 Corporate Members.
The member societies of the APFCB practice laboratory medicine in a wide and diverse
range. Supporting the needs of our member societies requires significant numbers oflaboratory professionals skilled and committed to help raise the standard of laboratory
practice in this part of the world. An important area for the APFCB to develop is the cultureof self-help within the region. Member societies will be urged to self-reflection areas which
are important in their development journey, so that effective training and education can beprovided. These activities also need to be efficiently conducted so that as many countries as
possible can benefit.
The APFCB has a good history of collaboration with other international federations, andfurther goodwill and partnerships will be developed especially with the IFCC, AACC andWASPaLM.
This year in 2017, the APFCB EB and Working Committees have put together an ambitious
plan for a variety of activity. Details of our ongoing scientific and educational activities will behighlighted to our members and the APFCB website will carry a calendar of our events forthe year and will feature a rich array of articles, reports and interesting information. I strongly
encourage you to visit all the sections of our website at www.apfcb.org.
A particular area of interest that I wish to initiate is the development of an accuracy based
EQA/PT programme for the region. Anchoring our common laboratory test analytes onto a
metro logically validated and traceable target value, will be the first step towards
standardization, harmonization and formation of uniform laboratory protocols for the APFCB.
I would like all members to be actively engaged in the programmes organized by the APFCB.
There will be focused meetings, education courses, mini-conferences and similar suchactivities over the next few years. Our next major APFCB Congress will our 15th and thiswill take place in Jaipur, India from 17-20 November 2019. I urge all to mark this date.
I look forward to a productive year and wish everyone a happy and healthy 2017!

Dr. Sunil Sethi, President APFCBHead Clinical Chemistry
Department of Laboratory Medicine
National University Hospital
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road
Singapore 119074
Tel: +65-6772 4347
Fax: +65 6779 5555
Email: patsks@nus.edu.sg
Website: www.apfcb.or

3

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

ASIA-PACIFIC FEDERATION FOR CLINICAL
BIOCHEMISTRY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE
Annual Report for 2016
I. APFCB Matters
Ordinary Members
The following National Societies are members of the APFCB:
1. Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB)
2. Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine (CSLM)
3. Hong Kong Society of Clinical Chemistry (HKSCC)
4. Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI)
5. Indonesian Association of Clinical Chemistry (IACC)
6. Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
7. Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry (KSCC)
8. Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemists (MACB)
9. Nepal Association for Medical Laboratory Sciences (NAMLS)
10. Pakistan Society of Chemical Pathologists (PSCP)
11. Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)
12. Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists (SACB)
13. Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Sri Lanka (ACBSL)
14. Chinese Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Taiwan (CACB)
15. Thailand Association of Clinical Biochemists (TACB)
16. Vietnamese Association of Clinical Biochemistry (VACB)
17. Mongolian Association of Health Laboratories (MAHL)
18. Vietnamese Association of Clinical Biochemistry (VACB)
Corporate Members
1. Abbott Diagnostics
2. BD Diagnostics
3. Beckman Coulter
4. Bio-Rad
5. Diasorin Ltd
6. Diasys Diagnostic Systems, GmbH
7. Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co
8. Kopran Laboratories Ltd
9. Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics
10. PM Separations
11. Randox Laboratories
12. Roche Diagnostics
13. Sekisui Chemical Co
14. Shenzen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co Ltd
15. Siemens
16. SNIBE (Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering Co Ltd)
17. Sukraa Software Solution Pvt Ltd
18. Sysmex
19. Technidata Medical Software

PM Separations rescinded its membership of the APFCB in 2016
Affiliate Members
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

4

Association of Medical Biochemists of India (AMBI)
Chinese Association of Clinical Laboratory Management (CACLM)
College of Pathologists of Sri Lanka (CCPSL)
Philippine Council for Quality Assurance in Clinical Laboratories (PCQACL)
Macao Laboratory Medicine Association (MLMA)
Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC)

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

Name of Association

Country

1 Iranian Association of ClinicalLaboratory Doctors (IACLD)

Iran

Ordinary Member
Affiliate Member
Corporate Member
Ordinary Member

Joining Date

2 College of Pathologists of Sri
Lanka (CCPSL)Sri Lanka

Affiliate Member

February 2016

3 Philippine Council for Quality
Assurance in Clinical Laboratories(PCQACL)

Philippines

Affiliate Member

August 2016

August 2016

New Members
Office Bearers and Chairs of Standing Committees
Executive Board
President
Immediate Past President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Corporate Representative
Chairs of Standing Committees
Communications(C-Comm)
Congress and Conferences (C-CC)
Education &Laboratory Management(C-ELM)
Scientific (C-Sci)

Leslie Lai (Malaysia)
Joseph Lopez(Malaysia)
Sunil Sethi (Singapore)
Endang Hoyaranda (Indonesia)
Elizabeth Frank (India)
Alexander Wong (Siemens)

Praveen Sharma (India)
Joseph Lopez (Malaysia)
Tony Badrick (Australia)
Kiyoshi Ichihara (Japan)

New Executive Board (1 January 2017 till 31 December 2019)
President
Sunil Sethi (Singapore)
Immediate Past President
Leslie Lai (Malaysia)
Vice-President
Endang Hoyaranda (Indonesia)
Secretary
Helen Martin (Australia)
Treasurer
Leila Florento (Philippines)
Corporate Representative
Alexander Wong (Siemens)
14th General Council Meeting
The 14th General Council meeting was held on Saturday, 26th November 2016 at the
Taipei International Convention Centre, Taipei. The minutes of the Council meeting will
be circulated in due course.
Annual IFCC grant
The IFCC gives the APFCB CHF 10,000 per year which is paid into the Philanthropic
Fund. This grant funds travel awards for young scientists to attend conferences to present
their research.
Memorandum of Understanding between APFCB and AACC
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between APFCB and AACC was signed on 11
December 2014 between Dr Leslie Lai, President of APFCB and the CEO of AACC, Dr
Janet Kreizman. The MOU was effective for a period of two years from 1.1.2015 till
31.12.2016. A new MoU was signed on 11 November 2016 effective for three years from
1.1.2017.

5

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
I. Education and Laboratory Management Committee
Chair: Dr. Tony Badrick (Australia)
Committee Members
Chair
Ex-officio
Secretary
Members
Corresponding Members
CSLM (China)
CACLM (China) - Affiliate member
HKSCC (Hong Kong)
AMBI (India)
JSCC (Japan)
MAML (Macau-China) - affiliate
member
MACB (Malaysia)
NAMLS (Nepal)
PSCP (Pakistan)
PAMET (Philippines)
SACB (Singapore)
ACBSL (Sri Lanka)
CACB (Taiwan)
TACB Thailand)
VACB (Vietnam)

Tony Badrick (Australia)
Leslie Lai
July Kumalawati (Indonesia)
DM Vasudevan (India)
Yong Hwa Lee (Korea)
Wang Zhiguo
Jinming
Joseph Lee
Jasbindrer Kaur
Susumu Osawa
Henry Tong Hoi Yee
Joseph Lopez
Ram Vinod Mahato
Rizawan Hashim
Mary Georgene Jimenez
Sharon Saw
H Weerawarna
Hsiao-Chen Ning
Saravut SaichanmaPham Thien Ngoc

A. IFCC Visiting Lecturer for 2015-2016: Prof Howard Morris (Australia)
Prof Morris was the IFCC Visiting Lecturer for 2015-2016 and he delivered the following
lectures in 2016:


Korea - LMCE2016 (KSCC) "Healthcare, laboratory medicine and patient care" and a
symposium presentation title "Is vitamin D critical for health outcomes? When to assess
vitamin D status". October 2016
Malaysia (MACB) - ‗Is Vitamin D Critical for Improved Health Outcomes?‘ and ‗When
to Assess Vitamin D Status‘. July 2016
Australia (AACB) – ―Vitamin D and bone disease‖ Sydney, Sep 2015

B. APFCB Travelling Lecturer 2015/2016: Dr Graham Jones(Australia)
The Travelling Lecturer, Dr Graham Jones spoke on the topic of Chronic Kidney Disease in
the following countries: Singapore, Vietnam, India (AMBI), China and Hong Kong. Graham
Jones also delivered a Plenary Lecture at the APFCB Congress in Taipei in November 2016.
C. APFCB-Siemens Young Scientist Awards
Five APFCB-Siemens Travel Awards were awarded to five young scientists to participate at
the 14th APFCB Congress in Taiwan based on their abstracts. These awards were hotly
contested with forty-eight applications. Each awardee received SGD 2,000 at the congress.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances one awardee withdrew. Hence, only four
APFCB-Siemens Travel Awards were given.
On the basis of their oral presentations at the APFCB congress in Taipei Dr. Rojeet Shrestha(Nepal) was awarded the second prize of SGD 500 and Dr Swarup AV Shah (India) wasawarded the first prize of SGD 1,000. These travel awards and prizes were generously
sponsored by Siemens Healthineers

6

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

The APFCB also awarded ten travel awards of SGD 1,000 each to young scientists who
were ranked the next highest in the scoring.
D. APFCB Congress Workshops
Workshops at the 14th APFCB Congress in Taipei
1) Joint APFCB-WASPaLM Accreditation Workshop with the following topics coveredby APFCB and WASPaLM speakers:
 Quality Systems Approach to Improvement Badrick Introduction to ISO 15189 Elizabeth Frank Ethical Practice/Governance Lai-Meng Looi
 Staff training and competence Jagdish Butany2) APFCB Pre-analytical workshop
 Pre-analytical errors and quality improvement
 Phlebotomy competence – solutions! Endang Hoyaranda
 Haemolysis, an ongoing problem Tony Badrick3) Roche-sponsored hypothetical entitled ―Unlocking the value the diagnostics Perspectives from across the healthcare chain‖ organised by the C-ELM in
conjunction with Roche. The aim of this activity is to raise awareness of theimportance of Pathology testing.
Chair: Leslie Lai
Facilitator: Ms Jenny Brockie, Journalist and host of Insight, SBS TV, Australia
Panelists:
Dr Maurizio Ferrari
Full Professor of Clinical Pathology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
Mr David Lu
Deputy Regional Chief Medical Officer & Vice President, Life & Health Products,
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Hong Kong
Prof. Howard Morris
Professor of Medical Sciences at the University of South Australia and Clinical
Scientist in Chemical Pathology at SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia.
Dr. Aw Tar Choon
Senior Consultant, Laboratory Medicine, Changi General Hospital, Singapore
Dr Raphael Twerenbold
MD, Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
Mr. Lance Little
Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific
E. Interpretative comments programme
In 2016, the Committee continued to offer a programme which ran over the periodof February to December and contained 7 cases. The purpose of these cases andsuggested responses is to provide some clinical cases for continuing education. Therewas wide range of responses with between 15 and 45 participants.
F. APFCB-Roche LEAN Clinical Laboratory Workshop
The first APFCB-Roche LEAN Clinical Laboratory Workshops, held in conjunction
with the VACB, were conducted in June 2016 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam. Initially, 15 Trainers in each centre were trained by Roche trainers. A
second course was run in September in Ho Chi Minh City where a further 15
laboratory staff were trained by the trainers. The course content is constructed using
three principles of learning:

7

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
Lean Simulation
Hands-on simulation exercises to enable participants to apply the Lean principles andtools in a fun and interactive way
Process Mapping
Visually illustrate and convey the essential details of lab processes for better
understanding of lab operations
Problem Solving
Brainstorm solutions based on Lean principles to address impending lab challenges andplan for implementation
The aim of this training is to cascade the concepts of Lean across Vietnam. The APFCB
and VACB are part of the Governance Board who, together with Roche, will oversee
the quality of the courses and monitor the success of the project.
Planning began in 2015 with Roche Diagnostics to develop a series ofworkshops/courses dealing with Lean- Six Sigma. These workshops will be jointly
organized by the local APFCB-affiliated society, the APFCB and Roche Diagnostics. The
first of these was run in Vietnam in 2016.
G. APFCB-MACB Chemical Pathology Course
The first Chemical Pathology Course of the APFCB was co-organised with the MACB
from 19-21 September 2016, in Kuala Lumpur.
The selection of the MACB was an appropriate choice since it plans to hold professional
examinations for clinical biochemists. The MACB is currently working towards
government recognition of such examinations.
The course ran over 3 days with content based on the AACB Chemical Pathology
Course and is a pilot for this type of Course in the Region. This was the first of these
APFCB-sponsored courses which are designed to prepare candidates for professional
exams as well as provide general education for laboratory staff. The topics cover fairly
basic aspects of chemical pathology to refresh basic knowledge in the principles ofmeasurement and basic pathological processes. There is also a case study component
to allow some analysis, interaction and team building.
The course was attended by about 65 registrants who included pathologists, scientists
and technologists. The faculty included Dr Tony Badrick, Dr Louise Weinholt from the
RCPAQAP, Dr Raja Elina Aziddin (MACB President) and Dr Loh Tze Ping of Singapore.
The course was well received by the registrants and the venue and facilities wereappropriate for this inaugural course. The course notes were particularly good and will
be a valuable resource for those studying.
The following Chemical Pathology courses and workshops have been organised anddelivered in association with Roche Diagnostics:
1) The 8th Vietnam Chemical Pathology Course (Ho Chi Minh City) was conducted at
the New World Hotel by Dr Ronda Greaves and local Vietnamese Quality experts.
This one day programme on Saturday 9th July 2016 attracted approximately 350
participants and included a delegation from Myanmar.
2) The 8th Vietnam Chemical Pathology Course (Ha Noi) was conducted at theIntercontinental Westlake by Dr Ronda Greaves and local Vietnamese Quality experts.
This one day programme on Thursday 7th July 2016 attracted approximately 200
participants.
H. Chemical Pathology and POCT Courses Vietnam – Ronda Greaves
The Chemical Pathology Courses organised by Ronda Greaves are now under the
structure of the C-ELM. These courses are run each year in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City. The topics covered in 2016 are shown below:

8

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016










APAC Lab Bench-marking survey
Mr. Mah Sam Yew,
Consulting Manager, Lab Workflow Solutions
Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
IFCC e-Academy
Dr. Ronda Greaves MAACB, PhD, FFSc (RCPA)
Current situation and Government plan to drive better quality of ClinicalLaboratory in Vietnam
Dr. Nguyen Trong Khoa,
Vice Director of Medical Services Administration, MoH
Laboratory Accreditation - the Australian Experience
Dr. Ronda Greaves MAACB, PhD, FFSc (RCPA)
Activities for laboratory quality from 2006 - 2016 and the plan of Central
Government for quality improvement to 2025
Dr. Tran Huu Tam,
Director of Center for Standardization and Quality Control in Medical Laboratoryof HCMCThe importance of Internal QC
Dr. Ronda Greaves MAACB, PhD, FFSc (RCPA)

I. APFCB Symposium at the AACC Annual Meeting in Philadelphia 2016
Addressing Pre- and Post-analytical Issues in Developing Countries conducted
Wednesday, 3 August 2016, 2.30-5.00 pm at the AACC Annual Scientific Meeting in
Philadelphia.
The symposium by APFCB was scheduled on the 4th day of the conference. Each
speaker presented his/her presentation for 40 minutes after a 5 minute presentation on
the APFCB by the moderator, Tony Badrick, followed by Q&A sessions right after eachspeaker. The symposium was attended by around 60 persons which was common
throughout the conference, except for the plenary sessions and some sessions which
had well-known, popular, and excellent speakers. The lectures were well received
which was apparent from the many questions raised.


Driving Change in the Pre-analytical Phase Endang Hoyaranda
Ethnic and regional differences in common laboratory tests: their implications forthe globalization of medical practice Kiyoshi Ichihara
The APFCB Interpretative Comments Program Tony Badrick

J. APFCB Paediatric / Endocrine Symposium at the EFLM-UEMS
Conference Warsaw 2016
The APFCB sponsored a symposium entitled "Pediatric Endocrine" at the 4th Joint
EFLM-UEMS Congress, which was held from 21 till 24 September 2016 in Warsaw,
Poland. The congress hosted more than 700 delegates with over 200 proffered
abstracts presented as posters and orals over the four days. Importantly, the structureof this congress brought together clinical and laboratory professionals as part of theimportant clinical interface.
The four speakers representing the Federation, Dr. Tze Ping Loh (Chemical
Pathologist, Singapore), Dr Chung Shun Ho (Scientist, Hong Kong), Prof. Wudy Stefan(Paediatric Endocrinologist, Germany) and Dr Ronda Greaves (Paediatric Clinical
Biochemist, Australia), together complemented this clinical interface theme. This
APFCB Symposium incorporated the following presentations:

Dr. Tze Ping Loh - National Hospital Singapore ―Clinical Utility of Steroid Analysis‖
Dr. CS Ho - Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong ―Mass Spectrometry Analysis ofSerum Steroids‖
Prof Stefan Wudy – Giessen University Germany ―Interpreting Mass Spectrometry
Data for the Diagnosis of Disorders of Sex Development‖
Dr. Ronda Greaves – RMIT ―Mass Spectrometry Reference Intervals for Serum
Steroids‖.

9

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
K. Development of material for self-directed learning for QA/QC/Lab
accreditation on the webpage
The Committee has been involved with ongoing development of the APFCB
Webpage. The focus has been on educational resources. The QA/QC tab of the
webpage has added some material supplied from Randox.

II. Scientific Committee (C-Sc)
Chair: Prof Kiyoshi Ichihara (Japan)
Committee Members
Chair
Ex-officio
Secratary
Members

Corresponding Members
CSLM (China)
CACLM (China) - Affiliate
memberHKSCC (Hong Kong)
ACBI (India)
IACC (Indonesia)
KSCC (Korea)
MAML (Macau-China) Affiliate member
NAMLS (Nepal)
PAMET (Philippines)
SACB (Singapore)
ACBSL(Sri Lanka)
CACB (Taiwan)
TACB (Thailand)
VACB (Vietnam)

Kiyoshi Ichihara (Japan)
Leslie Lai
Binod Yadav (Nepal)
Ronda Greaves (Australia)
Graham Jones (Australia)
Dilshad A Khan (Pakistan)
Raja Elina Raja Aziddin (Malaysia)

Chen Wen Xiang
Chen Wen Xiang
Allen K Chan
Tester Ashavaid
Miswar Fattah
Jung Han Song
Hoo Chai
Binod Yadav
Leila M Florento
Sharon Saw
Dr Gaya Katulanda
Shu Chu Shiesh
Prabhop Dansethakul
Nguyen Bao Toan

A. Reports and development of web-site on the 2009 Asian study forcollaborative derivation of reference intervals (RIs)
The Asian study conducted as a collaborative work of APFCB with the IFCC
Committee on the Reference Intervals and Decision Limits (C-RIDL) was completed
in 2009.Two keynote papers were published in 2013 (Clin Chem Lab Med 2013;
51:1429–42, and Clin Chem Lab Med 2013; 51:1443–57). The large dataset from3500 healthy individuals living in 7 APFCB countries are composed of test results for
72 major analytes and detailed information from health-status questionnaire. The
dataset is an invaluable source data for exploring biological sources of variation (SV)of laboratory tests. Therefore, secondary analyses of the dataset were performed. In
2016, the following APFCB papers were published:
1.

10

Ichihara K, Yamamoto Y, Hotta T, Hosogaya S, Miyachi H, Itoh Y, Ishibashi M,
Kang D on behalf of the Committee on Common Reference Intervals, Japan
Society of Clinical Chemistry. Collaborative derivation of reference intervals for
major clinical laboratory tests in Japan. Ann Clin Biochem 2016; 53:347–56.

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

2.

Masuda S, Ichihara K, Yamanishi H, Hirano Y, Tanaka Y, Kamisako T on behalf of
the Scientific Committee for the Asia-Pacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry.
Evaluation of menstrual cycle-related changes in 85 clinical laboratory analytes.
Ann Clin Biochem 2016; 53:365–76.
3. Jono H, Su Y, Obayashi K, et al, on behalf of the Scientific Committee for the AsiaPacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry. Sources of variation of transthyretin in
healthy subjects in East and Southeast Asia: Clinical and experimental evidence forthe effect of alcohol on transthyretin metabolism. Clin Chim Acta 2016; 458:5–11.
In June 2015, the following web-site was set up to publicize the results: http://c-sciapfcb.net/eblm/index.html
It allows interactive viewing of RVs for EBLM by specifying sources of variation (sex,age, country, BMI, ABO blood groups, level of alcohol drinking, smoking, andexercise) or by specifying any two laboratory tests for analysis of correlation.

B. Collaboration to the global multicentre study on reference values(RVs)
The study, planned and coordinated by C-RIDL (IFCC) was launched in December of
2011. As of now, 19 countries around the world joined the study, and 7 reports
including two intermediary reports were published (see below). Among the 19, 8
countries are from Asia, all are members of the APFCB, and are contributing greatly
to the global study. At the time of previous report by the Scientific Committee for theperiod 2010–2013, only the status of Japan, China, India, and Philippine wasdescribed. After 2014, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Malaysia joined. The progressin each country is described briefly below:
China: Led by Dr. Ling Qiu of Beijing Union Medical College Hospital, a total of 3,148
volunteers were recruited by 2013 from 7 provinces nationwide. More than 50
analytes were measured with support from Beckman-Coulter (BC) China. The
investigators recently published two reports on China-specific RIs and SVs of RVs, andwriting more papers base on the results.
Japan: Recruitment of 655 healthy volunteers and measurements for 56 analytes wascompleted by 2012 with support from BC Japan. Ichihara Research Laboratory in
Yamaguchi University has been acting as the data center and provides services for eachcountry that requires data analysis of RVs and for derivation of RIs by use of up-to-date
methodologies. Since Japanese RIs have been established from the 2009 Asian study,
the newly obtained RVs from Japan have been dedicated for investigating an optimal
protocol and statistical methods for derivation of RIs and comparison of SVs of RVs
across the countries.
The analytical results are to be published but their results were included in the IFCC
interim reports on the global study together with those from China, Japan, Philippines,
and Pakistan.
Philippines: A team of laboratory technicians in Iloilo city launched the study in 2013
under the auspices of the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)
and San Agustin University. 757 volunteers were recruited by PAMET, but PAMET
experienced problems with the analytical platform which they originally planned touse. Therefore, in 2015, all the specimens were brought to Japan and 31 analytes were
measured using BC reagents. Their country-specific RIs remain to be published fromthe results, but their study results have been included in the interim reports
Nepal: The study led by Dr. Binod Yadav of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital,
Kathmandu, started in 2013. However, a problem was noted with the assay system as
in Philippines, especially in measuring the panel of sera which is essential forstandardisation and comparison of results with other countries. Then, Mr. Ram Vinodof the same university made efforts to recruit volunteers again. The test results for 22
biochemistry analytes from 630 healthy volunteers were completed in April 2016.
Data analysis remains to be completed, but the results will be reported in the final
reports of the global study.

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APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
Bangladesh: A team led by Dr. Firoz Ahmed in International Center on Diarrheal
Disease Research joined the study in 2015 with support from BC and Abbott.
Recruitment of 580 volunteers and measurements of 61 analytes, including CBC, werecompleted by July 2016. The data analysis remains incomplete, but will be reported in
the final C-RIDL report.
Pakistan: Two institutions (Aga Khan University in Karachi and Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology in Rawalpindi) joined the study in 2014 independently,
respectively led by Dr. Farooq Ghani and Prof. Dilshad Khan with recruitment of 607
and 560 volunteers, targeting 52 and 42 analytes using Siemens and Abbott reagents,
respectively. There were no appreciable differences in RVs between the two studies inany analyte. However, there were problems encountered in the measurement of theserum panel in the former institution. Therefore, in the interim reports on global
comparison of RVs, only those from the latter institution were used.
Malaysia: A nationwide study was launched in July 2016, and is currently under way
by setting up three central labs within Malaysia. A total of 1000 healthy volunteers areto be recruited for measurement of 50 analytes using Siemens and Abbott reagents
depending on the location. Between assay-platform differences are to be harmonizedbased on common measurements of the serum panel by all three central labs.
Therefore, RIs for analytes measured by immunoassays are to be derived for eachreagent
The interim reports on the global study were just published in two parts
based on results from 12 countries, including 5 from Asia. Part I focused on (1)assessment of statistical methods which are most suitable for the harmonised
implementation of the RI study and (2) exploration of between-country differences in
RVs after alignment of them based on the panel test results. For the latter aspect, it isnotable that RVs of many analytes (Albumin, Creatinine, uric acid, TG, AST, ALT, etc)
showed no differences among the Asian countries. In contrast, the RVs of TP, Urea,
LDL-C, HDL-C, CRP, IgG, etc. differed greatly among Asian countries. Part II of thereport dealt with SVs of RVs. Alcohol, smoking, exercise-related changes in RVs weresimilar among the countries. However, BMI-related changes of RVs for TG, HDL-C,
AST, and ALT differed greatly among Asian countries. These findings are to be
confirmed with the addition of results from three more Asian countries.
Papers published in 2016 on the global study incorporating APFCB
member countries are as follows:
Xia L, Qiu L Cheng X, Chen M, Tao Z, Li S, Liu M, Wang L, Qin X, Han J, Li P, Hou L,
Yu S, Ichihara K. Nationwide multicenter reference interval study for 28 common
biochemical analytes in China. Medicine 2016; 95 (9): e2915.
1. Ichihara K, Ozarda Y, Barth JH, et al. on behalf of the Committee on Reference
Intervals and Decision Limits, IFCC and Scientific Committee, APFCB. A global
multicenter study on reference values: 1. Assessment of methods for derivation andcomparisonofreference
intervals.
Clin
Chim
Acta
(in
press)doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2016.09.016
2. Ichihara K, Ozarda Y, Barth JH, et al. on behalf of the Committee on Reference
Intervals and Decision Limits, IFCC and Scientific Committee, APFCB. A global
multicenter study on reference values: 2. Exploration of sources of variation across thecountries. Clin Chim Acta (in press) doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2016.09.015
The following presentations regarding the above research were made between 2014
and 2016:
1. Ichihara K. ―The Utility of Big Data in Laboratory Medicine‖, the 13th Asian Societyof Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (ASCPaLM) 2016, March 26, 2016,
Taipei, Taiwan. (Plenary Lecture).
2. Ichihara K. ―Understanding the Impact of Race and Rationality on Common Tests‖.
The 26h Malaysia Association of Clinical Biochemistry Conference. July 18, 2016, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. (Plenary Lecture)

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APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

3. Ichihara K. ―Ethnic and Regional Differences in Common Laboratory Tests: Their
Implications for the Globalization of Medical Practice‖ In APFCB sponsored
symposium: Addressing pre- and post-analytical issues in developing countries‖. 2016
AACC Annual meeting, August 3, 2016 in Philadelphia, USA. (Symposium)
4. Ichihara K. ―Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine for Better Patient
Care‖. 2016 Nepali Association of Clinical Chemistry General Conference, August
20-21, 2016, Kathmandu, Nepal. (Plenary Lecture)
5. Mahato RV. ―Reference Intervals for common biochemical parameters in healthy
adult Nepalese population aged (18-65). 2016 Nepali Association of Clinical
Chemistry General Conference, August 20-21, 2016,Kathmandu, Nepal.(Poster
Presentation)
6. Cheng X. Analysis of anti-Müllerian hormone levels in adult Chinese women: A
multicenter reference intervals study. The 14th Asia–Pacific Federation for Clinical
Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine Congress (APFCB 2016), November 26-29,
2016 (oral session)
7. Yu S. Hypovitaminosis D is more prevalent in younger adults than elder ones in
China: vitamin D status survey based on a multicenter study. The 14th Asia–PacificFederation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine Congress (APFCB
2016), November 26-29, 2016 (oral session)
C. A new research project for building a clinical case bank
As a new research project coordinated by Scientific Committee of APFCB, in 2015,
the Chair of the Scientific Committee proposed to the Executive Board that he would
like to develop a well-defined international clinical case bank for promoting thepractice of evidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM). The background of the
proposal was the success of the large scale multicentre global study on RVs, whichfeatures standardised / harmonised accumulation of RVs around the world throughcommon measurement of the serum panel. The study not only allowed derivation of
RIs in harmony among the countries using up-to-date methods, but also provided
detailed information on biological SVs of RVs which is useful in the practice oflaboratory diagnosis. A similar multicentre study is now possible targeting welldefined diagnostic categories of diseases, rather than targeting healthy individuals,
using the same strategy of the serum panel-based recalibration/alignment oflaboratory test results.
As an initial attempt, hematological malignancy (multiple myeloma, malignant
lymphoma), and major endocrine and collagen diseases are in target for collecting
well-defined cases of each diagnostic category with recording of lab test results at
onset (before therapy) together with clinical findings and prognostic information to beobtained afterwards. For standardised analytes, their test results are to be
standardised/ recalibrated based on assigned values on the serum panel. For nonstandardised analytes, the values measured by any assay platform will be aligned at thetime of combining results from multiple institutions, again based on the panel test
results. By analysing lab data from the clinical case bank in reference to clinical stages
and subtype of each case, the project seeks to determine ―disease-specific RIs‖ ofmajor lab tests stratified by stages and subtypes of each disease.
After exploring and publishing new diagnostic knowledge for the practice of EBLM,
the clinical case bank will be made available from the above-mentioned web-site for
the Asian RI study (to be merged with the RVs from the global RI study).Currently,
laboratory scientists and clinicians from core medical institutions in Japan, Bangladesh,
Nepal, India, and Pakistan, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria have expressed their
willingness to take part in the study. Explanatory meetings were held in Kathmandu
on Apr 4 and Aug 15, Cape Town on July 5, Dhaka on July 21-22, Niigata on Aug 24,
Maebashi on Aug 25, and Ube on Sep 20. The protocol will be evaluated in details
during the Scientific Committee meetings in Taipei on Nov 27−28, 2016 before
launching the project from 2017.

13
13

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

D. Regional project for harmonisation of mass spectrometry-based
steroid assays.
Chair: Dr. Ronda Greaves (Australia)
The Mass Spectrometry Harmonisation Working Group (MSHWG) was
proposed as an outcome of the 2010 Asian Pacific Mass Spectrometry Conference inHong Kong. The goal of the MSHWG is to promote harmonisation, and wherepracticable, standardisation of mass spectrometry methods through a consensus
approach with laboratories; principally in the Asia and Pacific area. A decision wasmade to initially focus attention on steroids due to the common interest of membersin this area. In a collaborative process, the MSHWG has incorporated studies relating
to steroids currently reported in the RCPAQAP endocrine programme; particularly
serum testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP). In
addition, work has continued to support the establishment of a urine steroid
metabolome method (for the investigation of adrenal cortex disorders) at the
National Hospital of Pediatrics in Ha Noi Vietnam to establish a regional reference
service and also to establish harmonisation of this procedure in the Asia Pacific region.
In 2016, regional laboratories and individuals involved in this collaborative process
stem from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South
Korea and Vietnam. A key challenge has been to engage with laboratory, clinical andindustry experts in the harmonisation process. An important clinical link has been
established with the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) action
BM1303, A Systematic Elucidation of Differences of Sex Development (DSDnet)
Working Group 3; co-chaired by Professor Stefan Wudy.
The outputs detailed below reflect the laboratory-clinical-industry collaborations.
Publications
1. Greaves RF, Jolly L, Hartmann M, Ho CS, Kam R, Joseph J, Boyder C, Wudy S.
Harmonisation of Serum Dihydrotestosterone Analysis: Establishment of anExternal Quality Assurance Program. Clin Chem Lab Med 2017; (published
online 14th October 2016).
2.

Greaves RF, Ho CS, Hoad KE, Joseph J, McWhinney B, Gill JP, Koal T, Fouracre
C, Iu Y, Cooke B, Boyder C, Pham H, Jolly L. Achievements and future directionsof the APFCB mass spectrometry harmonisation project on serum testosterone.
Clin Biochem Rev 2016;37:63-84.

3.

A Kulle A, Krone N, Holterhus PM, Schuler G, Greaves RF, Juul A, de Rijke YB,
Hartmann MF, Saba A, Hiort O, Wudy SA. Steroid Hormone Analysis in
Diagnosis and Treatment of DSD: - Position Paper of EU COST Action BM 1303
―DSDnet. European Journal of Endocrinology. Submitted.

4.

Greaves, RF. External Quality Assurance – Its central role in supporting
harmonisation in laboratory medicine. Clin Chem Lab Med 2017; (Invited
Editorial, published online 14th October 2016).

5.

Greaves, RF. Recent advances in the clinical application of mass spectrometry.
eJIFCC. 2016;27:264-271.

6.

Tran MTC, Trung KH, Greaves RF. Practical application of biological variationand Sigma metrics quality models to evaluate 20 chemistry analytes. Clinical
Biochemistry 49 (16), 1259-1266.

Conference Abstracts
1. Loh TP. Clinical utility of steroid analysis. Session 13: Pediatric endocrine
symposium – 4th EFLM-UEMS Congress Poland 2016, 21-24 Sept 2016. Clin
Chem Lab Med 2016; 54 (10): eA248-9.
2.Ho CS. Routine steroid hormones service by mass spectrometry for pediatricendocrinology. Session 13: Pediatric endocrine symposium – 4th EFLM-UEMS
Congress Poland 2016, 21-24 Sept 2016. Clin Chem Lab Med 2016; 54 (10):eA249.

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APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
3. Wudy SA. Interpreting mass spectrometry data for the diagnosis of disorders of
sexual development. Session 13: Pediatric endocrine symposium – 4th EFLMUEMS Congress Poland 2016, 21-24 Sept 2016. Clin Chem Lab Med 2016; 54(10): eA249.
4. Greaves, RF. Mass spectrometry reference intervals for serum steroids. Session
13: Pediatric endocrine symposium – 4th EFLM-UEMS Congress Poland 2016, 2124 Sept 2016. Clin Chem Lab Med 2016; 54 (10): eA249-50.
5. Greaves, RF, Wudy S, Hartmann M, Ho CS, Kam R, Joseph J, Boyder C, Jolly L.
Harmonisation of Serum Dihydrotestosterone Analysis: Establishment of anExternal Quality Assurance Program. European Society for PediatricEndocrinology (ESPE). Rapid Communication Presentation. Paris France Sept
2016.
6. Tavita N, Greaves RF. Systematic Review of Serum Steroid Reference Intervals
developed using Mass Spectrometry. 54th AACB Annual Scientific Conference
2016.
E. APFCB / WASPaLM Task Force on Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
Chair: Associate Prof Dr Graham Jones (Australia)
This project was proposed by Dr Graham Jones in 2013 and accepted by the
APFCB EB at that time. The project was aimed at emphasizing the following points:
1. Quality, traceable assays for Creatinine, urine albumin, and possibly cystatin C
2. Standardise reporting (units, eGFR formula, Reference Intervals, decision points)
3. Education of users
4. Produce the following guidelines: Who and when to test, which tests to use, how
to interpret, how to manage
5. Reporting issues
It was proposed to include AFCKDI (Asian Forum of Chronic Kidney Disease
Initiative) to give three contributing parties to the project: APFCB, WASPaLM and
AFCKDI.
Dr Jones has spoken on CKD as the APFCB Travelling Lecturer and AACB Roman
Lecturer (with additional financial support from host organizations; St Vincent‘s
Hospital Sydney; and from Roche Diagnostics for Vietnam) in India, Vietnam, China,
Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Mexico (WASPaLM World
Congress November 2015). Additionally, he has spoken at the Vietnam Associationof Urology and Nephrology (VUNA) on the topic and also at the APFCB Congress in
Taipei as a plenary lecturer.
A meeting was held for interested members of APFCB organizations in Taiwan on
Tuesday 29th November 2016 during the APFCB congress. Twenty people
attended the meeting which included participants from WASPaLM and APFCB
member countries (in alphabetical order) of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
The following personnel were proposed for the task force (TF):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Chair: Dr Graham Jones (APFCB)
Vice Chair: Dr Leslie Lai (WASPaLM)
Vice Chair: Dr Tsukamoto (or other nominee) (AFCKDI)
Secretary: Dr Ronda Greaves (APFCB)Members: Dr Sunil Sethi (Singapore), Dr Praveen Sharma (India), Dr Arleen
Suryatenggara (Indonesia)

The aim is to model the TF on the IFCC TF-CKD. This TF consists of a number ofmembers, and also corresponding members. All members of either class arenominated by their parent professional organization and are invited to fully
participate in the activities of the TF. The IFCC-TF is basing current activities on
supporting national organizations in working with national nephrology organizations,particularly with regard to consideration of the KDIGO Guidelines on diagnosis of
CKD.

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APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

III. Communications Committee (C-Comm)
Chair: Prof Praveen Sharma (India)
Committee Members
Chair
Ex-officio
Secretary
Members

Praveen Sharma (India)
Leslie Lai
MVR Reddy (India)
Hwan Sub Lim (Korea)
Marivic Baniqued (Philippines)

Corresponding Members
AACB (Australasia)
CSLM (China)
CACLM (China) - Affiliate member
HKSCC (Hong Kong)
IACC (Indonesia)
JSCC (Japan)
MAML (Macau-China) - Affiliate
memberNAMLS (Nepal)
PSCP (Pakistan)
SACB (Singapore)
ACBSL(Sri Lanka)
CACB (Taiwan)
TACB (Thailand)
VACB (Vietnam)

Sandra Klingberg
Guan Ming
Mingting Peng
Karen KT Law
Krist Haksa
Hitoshi Chiba
Terry Wan Chi Chung
Pramod Prasat RautSamina Ghayur
Sharon Saw
BKTP Dayanath
Ya-Wen Chang
Busaba Matrakool
Hoang Thu Ha

The C-Comm has been actively promoting the activities of APFCB at national levelwith member societies as well as at international level. The various activities ofmember societies are disseminated through the APFCB website.
APFCB e-News
One of the major activities of C-Comm has been the regular publication of APFCB
news. The publishing team comprises:
Editor-in-Chief
General and Case Studies Editors

Web Editor
Assistant Editor

Praveen Sharma
Leslie Charles Lai
Tester Ashivaid
Aysha Habib
MVR Reddy
Purvi Purohit

The APFCB e-news is available online, free of charge for all and this has ensured
wide reach of the APFCB e-News to all the members at no additional cost. It covers:- APFCB activities- Activities of member societies- Features (including special mention of any outstanding work)- Scientific article by members- Scientific articles by corporate members

16

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
The APFCB e-News was published annually from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, it was
decided by the EB that the APFCB e-News shall be published twice in a year as
Issue -1 and 2 in an effort to cover more regional activities and provide more upto-date news. The APFCB e-News 2016 (Issue-1) is already online covering theactivities of member societies in the first half of this year.
APFCB Website
The Chair of the Communications Committee was charged with the responsibilityof launching the APFCB website and its coordination, maintenance andimprovement (www.apfcb.org). Dr MVR Reddy (India) has been assigned the
responsibility of being the web editor. The site was successfully launched on 1
Nov 2011. Since then, it is regularly updated with comprehensive information on
the organization and activities of APFCB and its member societies. Access is madeavailable through the website to the ongoing Scientific, Education and Laboratory
Management Committee programmes of APFCB as well as the activities of theCommunications and Congress Committee.
The APFCB website hosted the first ever live broadcasting of the Vietnam
Chemical Pathology Course in the year 2015 which was viewed by more than 200
participants.
There is also a photo gallery of relevant events. The website is also a source of
information on the APFCB Congress and regional meetings, APFCB Travelling
Lecturer programme and future events. The APFCB e-News and annual reports
are conveniently published online on this platform, making them readily available
to all members. The website also gives access to the APFCB webinars.
Public Relations
A power point presentation on the APFCB, its members and its activities wasdeveloped by Mr. Martin Fuhrer, Corporate Representative to the EB and is now
being updated regularly by the Corporate member, Dr Alexander Wong. Thispower point presentation is ready for use at member society conferences and atregional and international meetings to promote the APFCB.

IV. Congress and Conferences Committee (C-CC)
Chair: Joseph Lopez (Malaysia)
Committee Members
Chair
Ex-officio
Secretary
Members

Corresponding Members
CSLM (China)
CACLM (China) - Affiliate Member
HKSCC (Hong Kong)
ACBI (India)
AMBI (India)
IACC (Indonesia)
JSCC (Japan)
KSCC (Korea)
MAML (Macau-China) - Affiliate Member
MACB (Malaysia)

Joseph Lopez
Leslie LaiPeter Graham
Yap Tjin Shing
Joycelynn Aman

Cui Wei
Chuanbao Zhang
Cybil TY Wong
Rajiv R Sinha
Animesh Bordoloi
Eric Martoyo
Yuzo Kayamori
Sung Eun Cho
Antonio Joaquim Noronha
Chen Bee Chin

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APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

NAMLS (Nepal)
PSCP (Pakistan)
SACB (Singapore)
ACBSL (Sri Lanka)
TACB (Thailand)
VACB (Vietnam)

Mithlesh Raut
Khalil-ur-rehman
Sharon Saw
Mrs. Sriyani Amarasinghe
Phannee Pidetcha
Tran Hoai Nam

Background
The APFCB C-CC began its existence as the Congress Committee which was astanding committee of the APFCB. It was responsible to the APFCB Council. The
role of the Congress Committee was to provide assistance with the organisationand the scientific programme of the Asian and Pacific Congress of Clinical
Biochemistry or APCCB, as the APFCB Congress was then called.
With the Strategic Plan of 2010 that was approved by the APFCB Council at its
meeting in Seoul, the Congress Committee became the APFCB C-CC.
The Plan stated that the membership would consist of a Chair appointed by the
APFCB Executive Board, a Secretary and one other member. The APFCB
President would be an ex-officio member.
The functions of the C-CC are as follows:
1) Role in APFCB Congresses Oversee the organisation of the APFCB Congress.
 Help raise sponsorship for meetings.
 Appoint members to be on the Scientific Committee of the APFCBCongress to ensure the international nature of the scientific content.
2) Specialty meetings
To organise one specialty meeting/workshop each year, as proposed by otherCommittees and conducted in conjunction with committees.
Prior to the 2010 Strategic Plan, the Immediate Past President was the ex –officio
Chair of the Congress Committee. However, the Strategic Plan stated that the
Chair of C-CC was to be appointed by EB, as with other standing Committee
Chairs.

Activities
14th APFCB Congress, Taipei, 26th-29th November 2016
The C-CC worked closely with Congress Organising Committee (COC) of the
14th APFCB Congress and especially with the Chair, Professor Woei-Horng Fang.
The COC furnished regular reports with budget and details of the progress of
preparation. Reports were also submitted to the IFCC C-CC through Mr. Joe
Lopez who is a member of this committee as well.
The Chair and APFCB President met with the COC in Taipei on 24th Oct 2015 todiscuss the progress of preparations. The meeting was attended by Professor
Fang, Professor Shu-Chu Shiesh, Chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee andother colleagues from the COC. Also present were representatives from theprofessional conference organiser (PCO). Professor Fang presented the progress
report while Professor Shiesh presented the draft scientific programme. A reportof the visit was prepared by Joe Lopez and submitted to the Executive Board andthe C-CC.

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APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

A. Amendments to the APFCB Congress Guidelines
The present APFCB Congress guidelines were prepared by Past President Dr. Tan
It Koon when he was Chairman of the APFCB Congress Committee from 19881991 and have been used until the present. Since these guidelines are more than 25
years old, the current C-CC Chair has undertaken an extensive revision of theseguidelines.
The proposed revised guidelines are more comprehensive and take into accountthe changes that have been approved by Council over the past several years. The
revised guidelines were approved by the C-CC and then by the EB in early 2016. It
was subsequently sent to Council for comment. The final draft of the revised
guidelines will be presented to the Council Meeting for approval, taking into
account issues relating to the code for ethical business practices that came up in the
IFCC in the second half of 2016.
B. Auspices
One of the functions of the APFCB C-CC is the award of auspices of the APFCB
for scientific meetings. The provision of auspices is mutually beneficial: the APFCB
lends its prestige to a meeting which should help it attract greater participation andin return the APFCB benefits from greater name recognition among theparticipating laboratory scientists.
All applications for APFCB auspices are vetted by the C-CC and treated on a caseby-case basis. The C-CC is careful to award auspices only to scientific meetings thatare organised by learned bodies and vendors such as its corporate members where
the content is of educational value and non-commercial in nature.
Meetings by vendors that purely promote their products or those organised forprofit by individuals or commercial bodies will receive auspices only in exceptional
cases. This policy was approved by the EB at its meeting in Jakarta in February 2016
and a policy statement written Joe Lopez on this was submitted to the APFCB eNews for publication.
In 2016, APFCB auspices were provided for the following meetings:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

College of Chemical Pathologists, Sri Lanka, Annual Academic Session, 3-5
March 2016
The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine, 10th International Conferenceof Clinical Laboratory Automation (Cherry Blossom Symposium 2016), Seoul,
South Korea, 20–22 April 2016
Association of Practicing Pathologists, India, 3rd Annual Conference, 11-12
June 2016
Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC), Annual Conference, 2021 August 2016
AACB-AIMS Combined Scientific Meeting and Chromatography Mass
Spectrometry Satellite Meeting, 13-15 September 2016
The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine for LMCE 2016 (Laboratory
Medicine Congress & Exhibition) & KSLM 57th Annual Meeting, 26–28
October 2016
Roche Efficiency Days (RED) 2016, Beijing 5-6 December 2016
Euro MedLab, Athens, Greece 11-15 June 2017
IFCC WorldLab, Durban, South Africa, 22-25 October 2017.

The C-CC declined to provide auspices to a meeting on metabolomics as it
appeared to be organised by a professional conference organiser and thus deemed
to be a ―for profit‖ meeting.
C. Resolution on Compliance with Codes of Ethical Business Practice
Various national and international agencies have in recent years established codes of
ethical business practices. Ethical business practices are also applicable to in vitro
diagnostics (IVD) industry, in particular for third party educational event organizers
such as the IFCC and national societies.

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APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016
The IFCC has decided in principle to endorse these codes of ethical businesspractices for all educational events developed and/or supported by the IFCC. The
IFCC has endorsed the ―Med Tech Europe Code of Ethical Business Practice‖. The
code is potentially applicable to the APFCB Congresses as well as it affects potential
sponsors. A resolution for the APFCB as well to endorse the ―Med Tech Europe
Code of Ethical Business Practice‖ will be tabled at the Council Meeting.

Corporate Member’s Report by the Corporate
Representative
Dr. Alexander Wong (Siemens Healthineers)
Summary of Corporate MembershipYear

New Corporate Members Added

Corporate Members Rescinded

2016

Nil

PM Separations

Unfortunately, PM Separations decided to rescind their membership in 2016. The
Corporate Representative had followed up with Mr. Michael Rennie of PM
Separations who shared that the main reason was that of declining resources and PM
Separations took the decision to support two other regional associations that werecloser to their core business needs.
A. Corporate Members Survey (Conducted in 2015)
A Corporate Members Survey was conducted on behalf of the Executive Board.
The objectives were to better understand the needs of corporate members, andfind greater alignment of activities between the members and APFCB committees.
A total of 7 responses were received, representing the major vendors. The survey
concludes the following observations on corporate member priorities:
1) Promoting the Value of IVD
From a broader market perspective, pricing is taking a greater precedence overquality and clinical value, with budget cuts hitting hard on visible targets such as the
LMD.
Overall, Corporate members would like to see the APFCB forge collaborations
with regional medical societies in order to promote the value of IVD, and increase
the standing of laboratory medicine.
2) Improving the Quality of Laboratory Medicine
Corporate members would like to see greater leadership from APFCB to improve
the quality of laboratory medicine. The current mode of engagement is throughjointly organised educational workshops on topics such as pre-analytical / QC /LEAN / Six-Sigma. Some members have expressed a willingness to open up suchprogrammes to other corporate members, although others prefer to keep this as avalue-adding exercise for their own customers. There may be a need for C-ELM toestablish a set curriculum of topics that are adaptable to individual corporate
members‘ needs.
3) Disease State Education and Scientific Studies
Disease state education and specialty meetings may be tied in with a travel
lectureship, based on corporate members‘ needs. Corporate members would liketo seek greater transparency with proposed studies before being able to commit tothese activities. Some areas of interests include reference range values for AsiaPacific populations, and health economic studies / patient-related outcomes as ameans to promote the overall value of IVD.

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APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
4) Cost-Effective Opportunities for Branding and Promotion
Most Corporate members are open to alternative forms of branding and marketing,e.g. e-newsletters, APFCB website and webinars, as long as they are cost-effective.
B. APFCB-SACB-Siemens Specially Meeting on QC Management
Date: 15 Jul 2016 (Friday), 1200 – 1715hrs
Venue: Mandarin Orchard Singapore
A specialty meeting was held in Singapore which saw the involvement of multiple
Corporate members in addition to the APFCB and SACB. The topic was around―QC Management‖, where participants learnt about the fundamentals of QC
Management and the tools available to aid in this process. Insights were also sharedon the available External Quality Assurance Programmes in the market. A/Prof Sunil
Sethi acted in his capacity as APFCB Vice-President as well as SACB President tograce the event with a Welcome Speech to over 120 laboratory participants.
Dr. Tony Badrick, Chief Executive Officer RCPAQAP and Chair of C-ELM spoke on
topics relating to QC Fundamentals and Rules, offering a comprehensive overview of
QC know-how. This was followed by Ms. Vani Sugumaran, Group ProductMarketing Manager, Lab Segment, Bio-Rad. Ms. Vani shared with the participants on
Bio-Rad Data Management Solutions which can aid laboratories in the ISO 15189
accreditation for quality assurance.
Siemens Centralink Data Management System was shared right after by Ms. Tan Ai
Lee, Regional Marketing Manager (Automation System & Solution), ASEAN. The
Centra Link Data Management System acted as a middleware solution to manage
patient results and daily QC management. It also works in sync with the Bio-Rad
Data Management Solution in the aspects of real-time QC data transmission for peergroup comparison, thereby defining the collaboration between Siemens Healthineers
and Bio-Rad.
Mr. Poh Wee Koh, Regional Product Manager (Point-of-Care), ASEAN, wrapped up
the afternoon with a discussion around how the requirements of Quality
Management at a Point-of-Care setting. It was an afternoon of valuable knowledge
and experience sharing from the esteemed speakers. More importantly, it was also awonderful event for networking amongst SACB laboratory participants and APFCB
Corporate Members
C. IFCC-APFCB-Abbott “Turning Science into Caring” Scientific Symposia(TSIC Scientific Symposia)
Background
The purpose of the annual TSIC meetings in the Asia-Pacific region is to bringlaboratory and other healthcare professionals together to exchange information on
trends in laboratory medicine and to elevate the standard of care. The APFCB
initially signed an agreement with Abbott Laboratories on 22 July 2013 while the
IFCC had signed a similar agreement with Abbott Laboratories earlier. The IFCC
and APFCB are both actively involved with Abbott Laboratories in determining thescientific content and speakers for the annual TSIC Scientific Symposium. The
APFCB signed an amendment to this agreement in May 2016 whereby theagreement period was extended to eight years from July 2013. The TSIC ScientificSymposium will now be held in the Asia-Pacific region once every two years insteadof annually. Hence, the TSIC Scientific Symposium will not be held in 2016.
Report prepared by Leslie Lai (President), Sunil Sethi (Vice President), Endang
Hoyaranda (Secretary), Alexander Wong (Corporate Representative), Tony Badrick(Chair C-ELM), Kiyoshi Ichihara (Chair C-Sci), Praveen Sharma (Chair C-Comm), Joseph
Lopez (Immediate Past President and Chair C-CC), Ronda Greaves (Chair of Working
Groups, C-Sci) and Graham Jones (Chair of Task Force on CKD).
30 December 2016

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APFCB News 2016

APFCB Congress 2016 report
Interim Report on 14th APFCB Congress, TAIPEI, Taiwan, 26-29 November 2016.

Congress Chair Prof Fang, Executive Secretary Prof Wu and Secretariat staff welcome
Congress participants at the lobby of TICC (26 November 2016)
14th APFCB CONGRESS 2016, TAIPEI VENUE:
Congress: Taipei International Convention Center Exhibition and posters: Taipei World
Trade Center Exhibition Hall Attendees:

APFCB News 2016a) Congress Participants: 768 from 52 countries.

22

No

Country

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
20

Argentina
Australia
Bangladesh
Belgium
CanadaChina
Croatia
Czech Republic
Egypt
FinlandFranceGermany
Ghana
GreeceHong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Korea
Macao
Malaysia
MexicoIreland

Participants
1
16
5
4
13
77
1
2
2
1
5
5
1
1
26
1
39
60
2
1
7
60
44
3
29
1
1

APFCB News 2016
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52

Italy
Japan
Korea
Macao
Malaysia
MexicoMongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Netherlands
New ZealandNigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
SerbiaSingapore
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
SwedenSwitzerland
TaiwanThailandTurkeyUnited Arab Emirates
UK
USA
Vietnam

APFCB Activities
7
60
44
3
29
1
1
24
10
2
1
1
2
23
3
1
1
1
31
1
5
2
2
2
2
119
40
7
1
16
35
26

b) Satellite meeting in Chinese (26-27 November, Taiwan Society of Laboratory
Medicine Annual Conference): 2620
c) Exhibition: 200+ exhibitors
Programme:a) 3 pre-Congress Workshop and one Author workshop (Elsevier)Workshop 1: R-statistical Programming Language for Clinical Laboratory
Attendees: 31
Workshop 2: WASPaLM-APFCB Accreditation
Attendees: 30
Workshop 3: Hands-on Course to Learn Skills Essential for Analyzing Reference Values
Attendees: 20b) Roche-APFCB Value of Diagnostics Panel Discussion : Unlocking the Value ofDiagnostics - Perspectives from Across the Healthcare Chainc)

1 Key note: Laboratory Medicine and the NHI-MediCloudd) 4 Plenary lectures- A New Era of Lung Cancer Therapy: From Precision to Cure?
- The Future of Molecular Biology in the Diagnostic Laboratories- Getting the Right Answer-The Importance of Traceability- Clinical Applications of Mass Spectrometry23

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016e) 29 Symposia (92 titles)f) Free papers:- 22 oral presentations- 184 postersg) 7 Industry Workshops and 10 Industry Lunch Symposiah) Satellite Meeting in Chinese (TSLM Annual Conference)-2 symposia (12 titles)-6 Industry Workshops-7 Award Speeches-8 Oral Presentations-304 Poster Presentationsi) Awards and Scholarships:
APFCB - Seimens Young Scientist Award Competition 4:
1st prize: Swarup AV Shah
2nd prize: Rojeet Shrestha
Travel grants: Hanah Kim, Shailendra Dwivedi

APFCB - Seimens Young Scientist Award Competition First and Second Prizes presentation
at Closing Ceremony.
APFCB Travel Award 10:
Menglan Zhou, Dwi Astuti HANDAYANI, Sudhasini Panda, Louisa Enestina, Apilak
Worachartcheewan, Wei-Ling Lin, Kang-Yi Su, Elizabeth Santoso, Prasenjit Mitra,
Lopamudra Ray.
APFCB Congress 2016 Student Travel Award- International 10 :Tong LIU, CHIRANJIT GHOSH, Hayato IKOMA, Asmita SAPKOTA, Haipeng XIAN,
Manickam PAULPANDI, Akira YOSHIMOTO, Xiumei JIANG, ERI OHTA, Rina
NAKAMURA- Domestic 4: Shao-Jui LAI, Hui-Yu HO, Wei-Yi CHEN, Hsin-Ying LIN
IFCC-Roche Scholarships 4:
Purvi Purhoit, Anak Agung Wiradewi Lestari, Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Sibtain Ahmed
NACCCA – Beckmen-Coulter Travel Grant 5:
Xuejiao HU, Guoju LUO, Weili DUAN, Yue Ru TIAN, Yufei WANG

24

APFCB Ac

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

Diamond Sponsors
Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd
Siemens Healthcare Limited
Platinum Sponsors
Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering Co., Ltd. (SNIBE Co., Ltd.)
Abbott Laboratories
Beckman Coulter Inc.
Bio-Rad Laboratories (S) Pte. Ltd.
Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.
Gold Sponsors
Alere Inc.
The Binding Site Group Ltd.
EUROIMMUN (South East Asia) PTE. LTD.
Randox Laboratories Ltd.
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
Waters Asia Ltd.
Silver Sponsors
DiaSorin Ltd.
DiaSys Diagnostic Systems GmbH
Mayo Clinic/Mayo Medical Laboratories
Singular Sponsors
AB Sciex Pte. Ltd.
Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
AllBio Science
JUUNE-SHINE INT'L CORP.
PerkinElmer Taiwan Corporation
Reininghün Diagnostics Biomedical Corp. (RND)
Sekisui Diagnostics (UK) Ltd.
The SCL Healthcare Group
Local Exhibitor
Amesdata Biotech Co., Ltd.
Amesdata Technology Co., Ltd.
Beam International Inc.
Becton Dickinson Holding. Pte. Ltd. Taiwan Branch
Bio-Check Laboratories Ltd.
bioMérieux China Ltd. Taiwan Branch
Creative Microbiologicals, Ltd.
DOUBLE EAGLE ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
Genetech Biotech Co., Ltd.
Grand Marquis Co.,Ltd.
Hui-Sheng International Corp.
Infung Co., Ltd.
Lihpao Life Science Corp.
Medicare Products Inc.
Radiometer Medical
R-Biopharm AG
Rui An International Co. Ltd.
San Tung Instruments Co., Ltd.
TBG Biotechnology Corp.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
TUNYEN Enterprise Corporation
Werfen Hong Kong Limited

25

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016

To attract Congress participants visiting exhibitions, Prof Fang invited his mother, a famousbrush painting artist, to paint hundreds of fans as souvenir for exhibition point collection
activity on 28-29 November 2016.
Social events:
Opening ceremony on 26 November 2016: the congress was opened with a Folk DrumShow followed with welcome address by APFCB President, Dr. Leslie C Lai; CACB
President, Prof. Woei-Horng Fang; IFCC President, Prof. Maurizio Ferrari; and DirectorGeneral, Taiwan National Health Insurance Administration, Dr. Po-Chang Lee. The
reception was at TICC immediately after the key note speech and first plenary lecture.
The reception began with String Trio performance. Several booths showcased
Chinese/Taiwanese traditional culture including: Portrait by Chinese Brush Painting;
Paper-Cut Silhouette; Dough Figurine Sculpture; Traditional Sugar-Blown Toy; Translate
English Name into Chinese in Calligraphy; Traditional Chinese Painting.
a)

Cultural night at Grand Hyatt on 28 November with the theme of Taiwan aboriginal
cultural dance, and group Karaoke Initiated by Dr. Woei-horng Fang followed by many
country groups.

Aboriginal dancer invited guests on stage to join dance.

26

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

Presidents opening of Culture Night (IFCC, APFCB, and CACB presidents)

Taiwan group Karaoke to entertain all the oversea guests.
c) Closing by Dr. Leslie Lai, President of APFCB and hand-over ceremony to thenext host (India) on 29 November 2016.

Handing over flag ceremony from CACB to ACBId) Event Organizer: CACB as the host and contracted with Enjoy Professional
Conference Organizer Corp. for the consulting and operations.

27

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016

Executive and council members of APFCB at 14th APFCB Congress on 26th November
2016, Taipei

IFCC Executive Board Meeting, 24-25 November, Pacific Business Center Hotel, Taipei
APFCB Congress 2016 Organizing Committee also arranged the venue and meeting
facilities for IFCC Executive Board Meeting, IFCC Scientific Division Meeting, APFCBCouncil Meeting, and all the APFCB Standing Committee Meetings. APFCB Congress2016 Organizing Committee also arranged the venue and meeting facilities for IFCC
Executive Board Meeting, IFCC Scientific Division Meeting, APFCB Council Meeting,and all the APFCB Standing Committee Meetings.

Congress Organizing Committee member group photo after closing ceremony(Report prepared and submitted by Woei-horng Fang, Congress Organizing
Committee Chair).

28

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016
APFCB Activities
APFCB and MACB Collaborate for First
Regional Chemical Pathology Course
Joseph Lopez, Immediate Past President, APFCBThe APFCB organizes a variety of educational activities for its members within the
Asia-Pacific region. Among these is the APFCB Travelling Lectureship, the IFCC
Visiting Lectureship programme which it coordinates, specialty meetings andad hoccourses and workshops. Sensing the need for basic courses for young clinicalbiochemists, the APFCB agreed at its Council meeting in Bali in 2013 to hold courses inchemical pathology within the region, along the lines of the successful annual chemicalpathology course of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB).
In response to the APFCB‗s invitation, the Malaysian Association of Clinical
Biochemistry(MACB) agreed to co-host the first such course in Kuala Lumpur. It was held from19th to 21stSeptember 2016 and was attended by more than 50 participants
comprising chemical pathologists, laboratory scientists, medical doctors and medicallaboratory technologists both from public and private hospitals laboratories from allover Malaysia. The course also had 2 participants from Hong Kong and another 2
representatives from the local diagnostics industry.

29

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

APFCB Activities
The programme was coordinated by Dr. Tony Badrick, Chair of the APFCB
Committee of Education and Laboratory Medicine. It contained an eclectic mix oflaboratory quality, endocrinology, instrumentation and laboratory techniques, organdisease and interactive case studies. Besides Dr. Badrick, others making up the faculty
were Dr. Louise Weinholt (Australia), Dr. Raja Elina Aziddin (MACB President) and
Dr. Tze Ping Loh (Singapore).

The feedback from 44 of the participants was positive. They commented that thecontent was useful and relevant to their work. Many indicated that they would have
liked to see more case studies and group activity in the programme. Participants wereof the view that speakers were knowledge able and they rated the delivery of the
topics with an average score that was between good and excellent. Most participants
requested the course be continued. The APFCB hopes to hold it annually in the future
if there is enough interest.

(The author wishes to thank Dr. Badrick and Dr. Raja Elina for their input.)30

APFCB Activities

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016
Scientific Collaborations in APFCB so far
and way forward
Kiyoshi Ichihara
Chair, Scientific Committee, APFCB
Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences,
This article was written to overview the past, current and future scientific collaborations
among Asian countries belonging to the APFCB, in which this author has been actively
involved especially as a chair of APFCB Scientific Committee since 2008.

1. Asian projects for collaborative derivation of reference intervals
1) The first and second Asian Study on derivation of reference intervals (RIs)for common use.
The global standardization of major laboratory tests has been achieved by the efforts of IFCC
and its member organizations. However, reference intervals (RIs) remain
discordant between laboratories (labs). This situation reflects insufficient number of subjects
and inappropriate statistical procedure for derivation of reliable RIs.
In order to overcome the problem, the multicenter study for derivation of common RIs froma large number of healthy subjects was conducted in 2000 and 2005 in Asian cities by the
IFCC Committee on Plasma Proteins (C-PP).
(i) The first study in 2000 [1]1294 healthy volunteers from 6 cites (Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuala
Lumpur)Total of 22 analytes were tested: chemistry (AST, ALT, GGT, Cre, Alb, TC, and HDL-C);
proteins (CRP, IgG,A,M, C3, C4, transferrin [Tf], retinol-binding protein [RBP], prealbumin[TTR], hepaplastin, ceruloplasmin, α1-antitripsin, α1-acid glycoprotein, α2-macroglobulin, andcystatin C[CysC])
By the scheme of collective measurements in a single laboratory in Tokyo, the study revealed
large between-country variationsinRVs of many analytes which belong to inflammatory
markers, such as IgG, C3, C4, Tf, TTR, and CRP. This unexpected finding led to thefollowing second study with application of harmonized stricter criteria of ―healthiness‖ forrecruitment.

(ii) The second study in 2005 [2]550well-defined healthy volunteers were recruited from clinical labs in 6 cites (Asahikawa,
Yamaguchi, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Jakarta). A total of 32 analytes were tested: chemistry(AST, ALT, ALP, LD, GGT, CK, AMY, TG, TC, HDL-C, Na, K, Cl, Ca, IP, TP, Alb, Cre, UN,
UA, Glu;) and proteins (CRP, IgG,A,M, C3, C4, Tf, RBP, TTR, and CysC). By use of the samemeasurement scheme, it again revealed a large between-region variation in RVs of many
inflammatory markers (IgG, C3, Tf, TTR, and CRP) as well as in those of HDL-C, LDH, andK.The intriguing results arouse strong scientific interest to expand the study by recruitingamuch larger number of well-defined healthy individuals and also by targeting more analytes.
2. The third Asian Study for derivation of common RIs with exploration ofregional differences in RVs(1) To explore regional differences in RVs by use of centralized collective measurement
scheme.
(2) To derive universal RIs by ensuring traceability of reference values (RVs) to the reference
measurement procedures (RMPs) for the standardizabe analytes.
(3) To transfer RIs of non-standardized analytes by cross-checking the same set of specimens
between the central labs and local labs.

31

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
APFCB NewsAPFCB Activities
2016
A total of 3,541 well-defined healthy individuals (20~65 yo) were recruited from 8
countries(2,084 from Japan, 130~340 each from other countries) at 62 clinical labs (46APFCB News
2016

from Japan, 15 from other countries). The study targeted 72 major laboratory tests. They
consisted of standardized analytes (lipid, enzymes, small biochemical substances), and nonstandardized analytes (tumor markers, hormones, vitamins).All the serum specimens werebrought to Tokyo using a foam box packed with dry ice(Fig 1) so that they were measured
collectively in Tokyo mainly using Beckman Coulter analyzers and reagents [3, 4]. However,a few serum aliquots per person were left behind in the local labs for cross-check testing(see below).
The study revealed the followings:
1) By use of an index called SD ratio (SDR) [2,5], SD for factor dependent variation overSD for between-individual variation, prominent between-country differences wereobserved in one third of the 72 analytes examined using a criterion of SDR>0.3 ascritical. They included TP, CRP, IgG, C3, C4, Tf, HDL-C, PTH, folate, adiponectin,
etc. However, for the rest of analytes, the RVs were found comparable.
2) In Japan, volunteers were recruited from 7 regions nationwide, but no regional
differences were observed in RVs for none of 72 analytes.
3) RIs were derived by use of parametric method with/without partition byregion/country according to the SDR criterion.
4) Application of latent abnormal values exclusion (LAVE) method [2, 5,6] was required
for AST. ALT, GGT, TG, and CRP with high prevalence of nutritional disorders (i.e.,
metabolic syndrome) and for AST, LDH, and CK for individuals with muscular damage
after strenuous exercises.
5) Transference of established RIs was achieved through cross-checking of serum aliquots
between the central lab and each of the local labs:
After publishing the key note papers for the study [3,4] in 2013, five more reports were
published using the datasets from the study by additional investigations and analyses. They
include topics on (1) regional differences in eGFR [7]; (2) RV variation factors of serum
isozymes for LDH, ALP, and AMY [8], (3) derivation of common RIs for Japanese
population after merging data from two other large studies [9]; (4) menstrual cycle-relatedchanges in RVs of 85 analytes [10]; (5) alcohol-related changes in RVs of TTR(prealbuin)with investigation of its mechanism by animal experiments [11]. More papers
are expected to come out soon.

Fig 1: Transportation of serum specimens from collaborating labs during the third
Asian study.

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APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities
3. Web-based provision of full RV dataset for the practice of EBLM.
Since detailed questionnaire regarding health status had been taken from each individual, we
can analyze biological sources of variation of RVs accumulated in the study. In anotherwords, the dataset from the third study can be used as knowledge base for the practice ofevidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM). Therefore, we set up a web-site to allow
exploration of factors associated with RVs for any analyte. Please visit the following URL(http://c-sci-apfcb.net/eblm/index.html)to find out how RVs changes by biological factors
such as sex, age, ethnicity, BMI, ABO blood groups, level of alcohol drinking, smoking, andexercise. It is also possible to evaluate correlations of RVs between any two analytes: AST
vs. ALT, Alb vs. Ca, Na vs. Cl, etc. laboratory tests for analysis of correlation. The databasein the web will be expanded to include the results of the global study to be described below.
Collaborations to IFCC Global projects on reference values from APFCB
The third Asian study developed into the global-scale multicenter study of RVs planned andcoordinated by IFCC C-RIDL, which was chaired by this author for the period of 20092015. It was launched in December of 2011 [12]. The objectives of the study were.
(1) To conduct the multicenter study for derivation of RIs country by country using anagreed-upon common protocol.
(2) To makeRIs traceable to the RMPs for the standardizable analytes through common
measurements of value-assigned panel of sera [6, 13].
(3) To evaluate between-country differences in RVs after alignment of the values based
the panel test results.
(4) To explore biological sources of variation of aligned RVs in a global scale.

Fig 2 Collaborating countries and reagent manufacturers for the IFCC global
study on reference values

As of now, 20 countries around the world joined the study(Fig 2). Nine countries arefrom Asia belonging to the APFCB (Fig 3): they include China, Japan, India, Philippine,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The progress in each country is as
described briefly below,
China: Led by Dr. Ling Qiu of Beijing Union Medical College Hospital, a total of 3,148
volunteers were recruited by 2013 from 7 provinces nationwide. More than 50 analytics
were measured with support from Beckman-Coulter (BC) China. They found nopractically significant regional differences in RVs of any analyte. The investigators recently
published two reports on China-specific RIs and SVs of RVs [14, 15], and writing more
papers base on the results.

33

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

Japan: Recruitment of 655 healthy volunteers and measurements for 56 analytes wascompleted by 2012 with support from BC Japan. Ichihara Research Laboratory in
Yamaguchi University has been acting as the data center and provides services for eachcountry required for data analyses of RVs and for derivation of RIs by use of up-to-date
methodologies. Since Japanese RIs have been already established from the 2009 Asianstudy, the newly obtained RVs from Japan have been dedicated for investigating an
optimal protocol and statistical methods for derivation of RIs and comparison of SVs of
RVs across the countries.
India: The study led by Dr. Tester Ashavaid and coordinated by Dr. Swarup A. V. Shahof P. D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai wascompleted by 2013 with recruitment of 512 volunteers and measurements of 57
analytes. With support from BC India, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson, the investigators
also evaluated between platform differences in test results for both routine biochemical
and immunologically measured analytes. Their findings are to be published soon.
Philippines: A team of laboratory technicians in Iloilo city launched the study in 2013
under the auspices of the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET) andSan Agustin University. They recruited 757 volunteers, but experienced problems in theanalytical platform which they originally planned to use. Therefore, in 2015, all the
specimens were brought to Japan and measured for 31 analytes using BC reagents.
Nepal: The study led by Dr. Binod Yadav of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital,
Kathmandu, started in 2013. However, they noted a problem in their assay system as in
Philippines especially in measuring the panel of sera which were essential forstandardization and comparison of results with other countries. Then, Mr. Ram Vinod of
the same university made efforts to recruit volunteers again. The test results for 22
biochemistry analytes from 630 healthy volunteers were completed in Apr 2016. Data
analyses are currently under way for publication of the results.
Bangladesh: A team led by Dr. Firoz Ahmed in International Center on
Diarrheal Disease Research (icddr, b) joined the study in 2015 with support from BC and
Abbott. Recruitment of 580 volunteers and measurements of 61 analytes including CBC
were completed by July 2016. The data analyses are currently under way for publicationof the results.
Pakistan: Two institutions (Aga Khan University in Karachi and Armed Forces Instituteof Pathology in Rawalpindi) joined the study in 2014 independently, respectively led by
Dr. Farooq Ghani and Prof. Dilshad Khan with recruitment of 607 and 560 volunteers,
targeting 52 and 42 analytes by use of Siemens and Abbott reagents. There were noappreciable differences in RVs between the two studies in any analyte. However, there
were unknown trouble in measuring the serum panel in the former institution.
Therefore, in the interim reports on global comparison of RVs, only those from the latterinstitution were possible.
Malaysia: A nationwide study was launched in July 2016 led by Dr. Elina Raja, thepresident of MACB, and is currently under way by setting up three central labs within
Malaysia. A total of 1000 healthy volunteers are to be recruited for measurements of 50
analytes by use of Siemens and Abbott reagents depending on the location. Between
assay-platform differences are to be harmonized based on common measurements ofthe serum panel by all three central labs. Therefore, RIs for analytes measured byimmunoassays are to be derived for each reagent.
Indonesia: A nationwide study with recruitment from 4 big cities is currently being
planned by Committee on Reference Intervals and Decision Limits of IACC, chaired by
Mr. Miswar Fattah. Details of their study remain to be disclosed.

34

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016
Interim reports of the global study in two parts based on results from 12 countries(CHN, JPN, IND, PHL, PAK, TUR, SAU, RUS, GBR, ZAF, USA, ARG)were justpublished. Their contents are as follows
The part 1 [16] described the objectives and scheme: (1) exploration of optimal
conditions for conducting the RI study in a harmonized way, (2) comparison of various
statistical methods by use of real-world datasets, (3) assessing the validity of serum panel
based standardization and harmonization of test results across the countries. The paper
concluded that (1) highly prevalent latent diseases such as metabolic syndrome
consistently affect test results of some analytes (i.e., AST, ALT, GGT, CRP, TG, etc), but
LAVE method was effective in reducing their influences. (2) The parametric (P) method
almost invariably gave RIs with narrower confidence intervals of their limits than the
nonparametric (NP) method. Besides, the NP method was easily influenced by thepresence of outlying points, which can be excluded the P method in the process ofGaussian transformation of the values.(3) The panel test results were very effective inaligning RVs and exploring between-country or between-ethnicity differences in RVs. (4)Among 50 analytes evaluated, nearly a half of them showed obvious between-country
differences: notably in RVs for Alb, urea, HDL-C, ALT, CRP, IgG, C3, and PTH. Whileno practically significant between-country differences were observed for uric acid,
TG, LDH, etc.
The part 2 [17] described the sources of variation (SVs) of RVs among 12 countries. Sex
difference and peculiar age-related changes in females were observed in many analytes
and were consistent regardless of the countries. On the other hand, BMI-relatedchanges were observed also in many analytes, but the slope between RV and BMI differs
greatly from one country to another. The finding was of great clinical relevance inconsideration of a large change in BMI among the countries.
With expectation of results from 8 more countries by the next year, final reports on the
global project will be made to confirm the current findings from 12 countries and toestablish globally applicable common RSs for the analytes without any between-ethnicity
differences in RVs.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the fact that the project owes a great
deal to the warm collaborations of the countries from APFCB.

35

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

Fig3.Collaborations from APFCB to the IFCC global multicenter study on RVs.

A new project on development of clinical case bank for the practice of EBLM
With the success of the standardized/ harmonizable accumulation of RVs in a global
scale by the scheme of common measurements of value-assigned serum panel, thisauthor proposed a collaborative accumulation of clinical laboratory data for diagnostic
use as a new project by the Scientific Committee of APFCB. The objectives are:(1) To create a well-defined clinical case bank (CCB) by standardized or harmonizedrecording of laboratory test results together with clinical findings (symptoms, signs,
pathological features, therapy, and prognosis) by internationally collaborative efforts.
(2) To standardize the data bank for universal use by means of common measurementsof the serum panel among the collaborating institutions, the same strategy used in the
IFCC global study on RVs.
(3) To merge the data from CCB, which provides evidence on the pathological sourcesof variation of lab tests, with a large number of RVs obtained from the IFCC global
study, which provides evidence on the biological sources of variation among healthy
individuals.
(4) To develop an information environment (web-site) to make the CCB available on
demand through a user-friendly interface. It allows dynamic acquisition of evidence
relevant for the practice of EBLM.
In short, the IFCC global multicenter study sought for accumulation of RVs (test resultsfrom well-defined healthy individuals) to establish ―health-related‖ RIs and to analyze
biological sources of variation of RVs, while the new APFCB project sought for
accumulation of laboratory and clinical data from well-defined patients diagnosed tohave a target disease and to derive― disease-related‖ RIs specific for its stage andsubclass.
As the first phase of the study, target diseases were set as hematological malignancies(multiple myeloma, lymphoma), endocrine diseases (thyrotoxicosis, hypothyroidism,
Cushing syndrome, etc), and collagen diseases (SLE, scleroderma, dermatomyocitis/
polymyocitis, micorangiopathy syndrome). The accumulation of clinical cases is to bemade by use of common case record foam (CRF) specific to each diagnostic categories.
Electronic case record foam (eCRF) matched to the paper CRF will be made available
on a web-site for collaborative accumulation of the clinical records. For standardizationand harmonization of clinical lab data, common serum panel are to be measured ineach medical institution. The CRF will be recorded retrospectively for the past five
years and prospectively for the next 3 years. A large number of cases (600~12,000
cases per disease) are expected to be accumulated over the 8-year period. The study
is funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

36

APFCB Activities

APFCB News 2016

This CCB project was launched during the Scientific Committee meeting held in Taipei
on the occasion of 14thAPFCB congress (Fig 4). Currently, from the APFCB region,
Japan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan joined the project. Besides, colleagues from
Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore expressed their interest for joining the study.
Outside Asia, an offer of collaboration was expressed by a research team in South Africa
headed by Prof. Rajiv Erasmus. With his earnest support of the project, additional
collaboration is expected from Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt. Therefore, the project is now
regarded as an Asia-African joint study for building the knowledge base and webenvironment for promotion of EBLM. This author would like to express sincere
appreciation to all the colleagues for the warm support for the new project.

Fig 4: Attendees to a APFCB Scientific Committee meeting in Taipei held for
discussion on the CCB

Project(4 colleagues each from South Africa, Bangladesh, and Nepal; 2 each from India and Japan,
1 each from Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey).
References
1.

Ichihara K, Itoh Y, Min WK et al. Diagnostic and epidemiological implications ofregional differences in serum concentrations of proteins observed in six Asian cities.
Clin Chem Lab Med2004; 42:800–9.doi: 10.1515/CCLM.2004.133, June 2005

2.

Ichihara K, Itoh Y, Lam CWK, et al. Sources of variation of commonly measured
serum analytes among 6 Asian cities and consideration of common reference
intervals. Clin Chem2008; 54: 356–65.doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2007.091843

3.

Ichihara K, Ceriotti F, Tam TH, et al. The Asian project for collaborative derivation ofreference intervals: (1) strategy and major results of standardized analytes. Clin Chem
Lab Med 2013; 51:1429‒42. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2012-0421

4.

Ichihara K, Ceriotti F, Mori K, et al. The Asian project for collaborative derivation ofreference intervals: (2) results of non-standardized analytes and transference ofreference intervals to the participating laboratories on the basis of cross-comparisonof test results. Clin Chem Lab Med 2013; 51:1443‒57. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2012-0422

5.

Ichihara K, Boyd J. An appraisal of statistical procedures used in derivation ofreference intervals. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010; 48:1537–51. doi:
10.1515/CCLM.2010.319

6.

Ichihara K. Statistical considerations for harmonization of the global multicenter study
onreferencevalues.
Clin
Chim
Acta
2014;
432:108–18,
doi:
10.1016/j.cca.2014.01.025

37

APFCB News 2016

APFCB Activities

7.

Wang X, Ichihara K, Xu G. Itoh Y. Call for the use of a common equation forglomerular filtration rate estimation in East and South-east Asia. Clin Biochem
2014; 47:1214‒19. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2014.05.058

8.

Shimizu Y, Ichihara K, Sources of variation analysis and derivation of reference
intervals for ALP, LDH, and amylase isozymes using sera from the Asian
multicenter study on reference values. Clin Chim Acta 2015; 446: 64–72. doi:
10.1016/j.cca.2015.03.034

9.

Ichihara K, Yamamoto Y, Hotta T, et al. Collaborative derivation of reference
intervals for major clinical laboratory tests in Japan. Ann Clin Biochem2016;
53:347–56. DOI: 10.1177/0004563215608875

10. Masuda S, Ichihara K, Yamanishi H, et al. Evaluation of menstrual cycle-relatedchanges in 85 clinical laboratory analytes. Ann Clin Biochem2016; 53:365–76. doi:
10.1177/0004563215617212
11. Jono H, Su Y, Obayashi K, et al. Sources of variation of transthyretin in healthy
subjects in East and Southeast Asia: Clinical and experimental evidence for theeffect of alcohol on transthyretin metabolism. Clin Chim Acta. 2016; 458:5–
11.doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2016.04.011
12. Ozarda Y, Ichihara K, Barth J, Klee G. Protocol and standard operating proceduresfor common use in the worldwide multicenter study on reference values. Clin
Chem Lab Med 2013;51:1027–40. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2013-0249
13. Ichihara K, Ozarda Y, Klee G, et al. Utility of a panel of sera for the alignment of
test results in the worldwide multicenter study on reference values. Clin Chem Lab
Med 2013; 51:1007–25. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2013-0248
14. Qin X, Tang G, Qiu L, et al. A Multicenter Reference Intervals Study for SpecificProteins in China. Medicine 2015; 94:e2211.doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000002211
15. Xia L, Qiu L Cheng X, et al. Nationwide multicenter reference interval study for 28
common biochemical analytes in China. Medicine 2016; 95: e2915. doi:
10.1097/MD.0000000000002915
16. Ichihara K, Ozarda Y, Barth JH, et al. A global multicenter study on reference
values: 1. Assessment of methods for derivation and comparison of reference
intervals. Clin Chim Acta (in press). doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2016.09.016
17. Ichihara K, Ozarda Y, Barth JH, et al. A global multicenter study on reference
values: 2. Exploration of sources of variation across the countries. Clin Chim Acta(in press) doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2016.09.015

38

APFCB Activities APFCB News 2016
APFCB-Roche LEAN Clinical Laboratory
Workshops
Tony Badrick, Chair C-ELM and Daniel Munloong Chin, Roche Diagnostics
The first APFCB-Roche LEAN Clinical Laboratory Workshops held in conjunction
with the VACB were conducted in April 2016 in Hanoi and HCMC, Vietnam.
The aim of this training is to cascade the concepts of Lean across Vietnam. The
APFCB and VACB are part of the Governance Board who, together with Roche, willoversee the quality of the courses and monitor the success of the project.
Understand LEAN concepts and the outcome of a LEAN Workshop
Design, prepare and conduct the 2-day LEAN Workshop
Develop and improve facilitation skills

16 trainers from Hanoi and 15 trainers from HCMC were trained by a Roche trainer
with 16 years of experience in LEAN Six Sigma. After which, the trainers will haveto conduct 2 LEAN workshops each in order to be certified.
Program Background:
Asian and Pacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry (APFCB), The Vietnamese
Association of Clinical Biochemists (VACB), Hanoi Medical University (QCC),
University Medical Center (UMC) Ho Chi Minh and Roche Diagnostics would like toinitiate an educational program in Vietnam with a purpose to improve standard oflaboratory practice in Vietnam.
The program will cover LEAN education to the laboratories across Vietnam,
whereby Roche as a content contributor will initiate "Train the Trainer" course at two
quality centers in Vietnam: QCC Hanoi and UMC Ho Chi Minh, which will act as
main educational institutes and training sites to roll out the program to laboratories
across the Vietnam. APFCB and VACB will act as main partners of the program,endorsing the program and monitoring the quality and implementation.
Within the initial roll-out Field Expert sites will be trained, which will act as Centersof Excellence (CoE). With such concept local trainers will be developed, who will
execute courses in local language and rapidly expand LEAN practices across Vietnam.
Courses will be available for any laboratory that aims to improve laboratory practiceand standards with LEAN practice. Participating laboratories will be implementing
and applying standards in their daily routine and benefit from improved efficiency intheir laboratory processes. The course will be certified by Quality Control Centers in
Vietnam: QCC, UMC, VACB and APFCB.
The initial courses will took place in April 2016:








in Hanoi organized by Quality Control Center for Medical Laboratory Hanoi Medical University (QCC)
in Ho Chi Minh organized by University Medical Center (UMC)
The aims of the workshop were as follows:
Understand thehistory, application and benefits of LEAN in thehealthcare industry
Provide a step-by-step guides and all necessary materials to conduct a 2day LEAN Workshop
Practice on how to facilitate certain games and activities of a 1-day
LEAN Workshop
Receive tips on how to be an effective facilitator

39

APFCB News 2016 APFCB Activities
Lean Simulation:
Hands-on simulation exercises to enable participants to apply the Lean principles andtools in a fun and interactive way
Process Mapping:
Visually illustrate and convey the essential details of lab processes for better
understanding of lab operations
Problem Solving:
Brainstorm solutions based on Lean principles to address impending lab challenges andplan for implementation
Day 1:


Overview of the LEAN Train-the-Trainers Program
Introduction to the LEAN concept
How to identify and prioritize problems
How to construct process mapping and measure process complexity

Day 2:How to conduct Root Cause Analysis
How to explain LEAN Improvement Tools
How to lead teams to brainstorm solutions
How to quantify improvements with Current vs Future process maps
How to document implementation planDay 3:


LEAN games facilitation practice sessions
How to be an effective facilitator

Day 4:


What is Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)
How to document a LEAN improvement project

Latest update:
Number of local trainers trained (May 2016): 31 from 13 Healthcare Institutions
in Vietnam
Number of local trainers who have conducted at least 1 workshop since May 2016: 10
Trainers
Number of local trainers who are certified (completed 2 Lean Workshops): 5
Trainers
Number of laboratory staff trained as of 10 Mar 2017: 103 from 16 laboratories inVietnam40

IFCC Activities

APFCB News 2016

IFCC - Task Force Young Scientists(TFYS) At APFCB 2016, Taipei Taiwan
27th Nov 2016
Theme: “Preparing Young Scientists Workforce"
14th Asia–Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine
Congress was successfully conducted in Taiwan in 2016 and hosted by the Chinese
Association for Clinical Biochemistry (CACB) in Taiwan. Taipei is one of the mostvibrant cities in Asia and ultimate tourist destination. The congress was chaired by Dr.
Woei-horng Fang, who is also President, CACB. International Federation of Clinical
Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) recognized the need for a support group to
help young scientists. Thus Task Force - Young Scientists (TFYS) was built in 2010.
The aim of TF-YS is to ensure that young scientists make a significant and growing
contribution to the activities of IFCC and other National programmes. By now, IFCCTFYS is able to cross the barrier and created a strong young scientists support groupinvolving more than 30 global IFCC member countries supported by the senior
members. We also have our additional larger online network of young scientists
covering global regions.

This joint session of APFCB & IFCC-TFYS was conducted on 27th Nov 2016 andmoderated by TFYS core members Dr. Lara Omolara Popoola. The purpose of
session was to summarise and share the current status and activities of TFYS till date tobring networking at next level. First talk was initiated by Dr. Pradeep Kumar Dabla,
Chair IFCC-TFYS titled ―Introduction to Workforce & TFYS-Webinars‖. He gave
details of current status of TFYS, members, programmes conducted, various initiatives
and then he focused on last two ―Webinars‖ conducted by TFYS.

41

APFCB News 2016

IFCC Activities

Webinar gives us the opportunity to continue to reach wider target group whereas
connecting in different time zone together as per convenience. It also enables tobroadcast the recording with questionnaires. Dr. Danni Li, member TFYS explained
the ―Mentorship Program and Future Plans‖. By now we were able to conduct two
interviews of Mentor & Mente. The mentoring relationship is built on mutual trust,
respect and communication, and thus helps mentee for personal and professional
development. ―Lab-Surfing.com‖, a tool developed by Dr. Santiago Fares Taie,
member TFYS to connect YS, improve communication and make exchange
programmes easier all around the globe.

―Global Survey Young Scientists‖ was conducted by Dr Guilaine Boursier, member
TFYS to understand the geographical difference in education, jobs requirements,
availability, opportunities. This was to develop the need based programmes for young
scientists. Dr Damien Gruson, Consultant TFYS & Past Chair explained about “IFCCe academy-A Powerful Tool for Distance Learning”. This new educational tool isbeing developed by the IFCC C-DL and C-Iel where it is serving as an open educational
resource containing distance learning material created and/or reviewed by IFCC
experts.The session was concluded by Dr Graham Beastall, Past President IFCC
providing details of ―Research Booklet for Young Scientists‖. The aim of this publication
is to provide insight into the research process and an overview of the strengths andweaknesses of different research methods to young scientists. The total ten chapters ofguide are available as pdf content and a series of webinars. The session was successful
in contributing to the understanding of the objectives and various ongoing projects of
TFYS developed for networking, education & training of young scientists to build thefuture of Laboratory Medicine.
Report By:
Dr Pradeep Kumar Dabla
Chair IFCC-TFYS
Email: pradeep_dabla@yahoo.com

42

IFCC Activities

APFCB News 2016

IFCC - Task Force Young Scientists(TFYS) ACBICON-2016, Manipal
University, Mangaluru, India,
12-15 December 2016
IFCC-TFYS has organized Pre-Conference CME, at 43rd National Conference
ACBICON-2016, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangaluru, India.
The theme of session was designed as ―Career Opportunities for Young
Scientists‖ to bring orientation of different career perspectives for Young Clinical
Biochemists. Further, TFYS has also conducted “ACBI-IFCC TFYS Young
Scientist Award 2016” successfully. The programme was fully supported by
Organizing Committee and led by members IFCC & ACBI.

Since 2010, IFCC-TFYS is putting efforts for the education and training of young
scientists and conducting sessions in various National & International meetings. A
biochemistry degree opens up a range of highly-skilled careers that incorporate
aspects of both biology and medicine. Although many biochemists work in traditional
laboratory and research environments, others find career opportunities in fields
ranging from business and sales to consultation and law. The session was opened withwelcome address by Dr Poornima Manjrekar, Secretary Organising Committee
followed by IFCC-TFYS Chair, Dr Pradeep Kumar Dabla. The session was chairedby Prof Praveen Sharma, EB-APFCB & Dr Elizabeth Frank, EB-APFCB. Dr
Bernard Gouget, EB-IFCC was also present to support the session. Dr Pradeep
Kumar Dabla gave the first talk of the programme titled ―Exploring research
opportunities for young scientists‖ where he explained what it takes to fits yourgoal if you look at various research positions that may differ widely with respect torequirements. The next talk was delivered by Prof. Ullas Kamath, Dean Manipal
University, Prof Biochemistry titled “Teaching and Academics Opportunities for
Young Scientists” followed by Prof. Praveen Sharma titled “Publishers &Medical writing Career” stating these jobs are in demand and they have to write
protocols, clinical trials reports, and patient information for the pharmaceuticalindustry, regulatory authorities etc. “Biotechnology Industry & Career” was taken
by Dr Elizabeth Frank whereas “Laboratory Service Delivery” by Dr Anna
Velts, Head Lab, West Tallinn Central Hospital explaining advances inbiotechnology & Laboratories followed by “IVD Industry & Career” from Dr
Sandeep Sewlikar, Head- Medical and Scientific Affairs, Roche Diagnostics India. In
end,
the
live
webinarwasconducted
byDr
Graham43

APFCB News 2016

IFCC Activities

Past President IFCC for “IFCC Vision of Research & Career for Young
Scientists” explaining initiatives & opportunities created for young scientists by
IFCC and further future prospects. This was moderated by Dr Bernard Gouget.
Young scientists were excited to exchange and solve their queries live with experts.
Vote of thanks & Closing remarks were added by Dr Elizabeth Frank & Dr Pradeep
Kumar Dabla.

“ACBI-IFCC TFYS” Young Scientist Award- 2016, 14th Dec 2016
The “ACBI-IFCC TFYS” Young Scientist Award-2016 were novel idea of Asia
Pacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry (APFCB)-EB. So, this 2nd mini award
competition is choosen to provide young researchers an opportunity to focus on anddevelop interest in «Research». The ultimate aim of this program is to foster andsecure excellent young researchers since ACBI-IFCC TFYS Awards-2015.
The 5 young scientists from pan India covering all zones of ACBI were selected. The
selection was done by senior members committee ACBI & IFCC from number ofrequests received on the basis of their research work. Awardee young scientists
presented their papers and were given full registration, travel and 3 nightaccommodation supported by organising committee, ACBICON-2016. The session
was chaired by Dr Jayashree Bhattacharjee, Dir Prof, Biochemistry, LHMC, Delhi& Dr Pradeep Kumar Dabla, Chair, IFCC-TFYS. Five awardee young scientists
presented their research work in row namely: Prasenjith Mitra, G Revathy,
Chiranjith Gosh, Namita Mahale, Angel Mercy Sylus representing 5 zones
ACBI. IFCC-TFYS is thankful to all our senior members ACBI & IFCC for conducting
TFYS sessions successfully.

The Young Scientists experience of “ACBI-IFCC TFYS” Young
Scientist Award- 2016 is given below:
Dr Prasenjith Mitra
AIIMS, Jodhpur

I would like to sincerely thank IFCC and ACBI for awardingme the prestigious ACBI-IFCC TFYS 2016 award at
ACBICON-2016 for paper entitled ‗Isolation andcharacterization of a compound from Ageratum conyzoides
Linn. responsible for anti-gastric ulcer activity in albino rats‘.
It is a tremendous honor to be acknowledged by such anesteemed, prestigious organization. It was an amazing,
memorable experience. I am grateful for this opportunityand I am sure this will add tremendously to my research
career. The TFYS award is a great recognition for young
scientists aiming high for a research career and it surely is a

motivation for the entire fraternity. Thank you IFCC and ACBI once.
again.

44

IFCC Activities APFCB News 2016
Dr. G. Revathy
JIPMER, Puduchery

I, Dr. G. Revathy, feel immensely grateful for being
awarded the prestigious IFCC-Task Force Young Scientist
award 2016 at Mangalore ACBICON 2106 conference
and for providing me an opportunity to present my work
entitled ‗Does methotrexate monotherapy ameliorate
systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction inpsoriasis‘ in the august gathering of eminent faculties andresearchers. I wish to express my sincere thanks to IFCC
and ACBI for providing me with this special opportunityin
this early stage of my career. It has been a real motivation and drives me further into
research activities. It has been a highly beneficial and a very informative session totake my work forward. I appreciate ACBI and IFCC for encouraging the young
researchers and for providing us with such an informative opportunity.

Chiranjit Ghosh
Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata
It is my great pleasure to write my experience over the
ACBI-IFCC TFYS Award in 2016. I would like to thankthe entire IFCC team for selecting me for the ACBIIFCC TFYS Award and also ACBI for providing me aprestigious platform to present my work in their annual
conference. I presented my research work entitled'Monitoring of blood glucose profile from exhaled
breath analysis for the diagnosis of pre-diabetes andtype 2 diabetes'. Here, I demonstrated a new method
to estimate the blood glucose levels of a subject fromthe exhaled breath carbon dioxide isotopes analysis. From my opinion, TFYS is a very
good platform to all young researchers who pursue their research works in someinnovative fields in order to improve the public health in better way. I do believe that
it is a very inspiring award to the young researchers like me to motivate in cuttingedge researches in future days. Therefore, I am really grateful to IFCC forrecognizing me through this award.
Dr. Namita Mahalle
Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune
I, Dr. Namita Mahalle, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital,
Pune-India, was awarded the prestigious ACBI-IFCC Task
Force Young Scientist Award-2016 for my research on―Oral administration of cyanocobalamin causes higher
increase in circulating holotranscobalamin thanhydroxocobalamin: An Indo-Danish study with different
doses of cobalamin‖. I am thankful to ACBI-IFCC for
giving me opportunity to present my work at ACBICON
2016 at Mangaluru. ACBI-IFCC has created a great
platform for sharing our respective experiences in research, discussing current trends
and latest technologies. I appreciate team of ACBICON 2016 for the efforts taken to
conduct a very well organized and informative conference which enriched myknowledge. Recognition to my research work, by this prestigious award has given
me confidence and motivated me to work hard in my research area. I would like tooffer my sincere gratitude to ACBI and IFCC.

45

APFCB News 2016 IFCC Activities
Dr. Angel Mercy Sylus
JIPMER, PondicherryFirstly, thank you for organizing such an inspiring and successful
conference. This was my first experience at the ACBI conference
and I am very grateful for having the opportunity to interact with
the ACBI team. I presented my research work entitled "Effect ofClomiphene Citrate on IL-10, Nitric Oxide and MMP-9 in
Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome." It was a good learning
experience and I'm glad that my paper was awarded the ACBIIFCC TFYS 2016. I received many enlightening comments andsuggestions from participants of the conference. I am especiallythankful to the IFCC team for giving me such a prestigious award and an uniqueplatform to present my research work, thus inspiring and motivating me to do more
research in future. The conference was an excellent occasion for researchers to cometogether and share their research work and I was fortunate to have the opportunity tomeet and learn directly from many great and experienced researchers. I deeply
appreciate the efforts of the team for putting up such a stimulating and fruitfulconference. I had a great time and learned a lot, and was very touched by your warm
hospitality despite all the demands on your time. Overall ACBI 2016 was an enrichingexperience for me and my heartfelt congratulations to the organizing committee formaking it a huge success.
Thank you.
Report By:
Dr Pradeep Kumar Dabla
Chair IFCC-TFYS
Email: pradeep_dabla@yahoo.com

46Member Societies

APFCB News 2016

Association of Clinical Biochemists ofIndia Annual Report 2016
The year started with the newly elected office bearers elected at the General Body
meeting of the Association of Clinical Biochemists of India held in Chandigarh on
December 14, 2015, taking up their office. The office bearers elected for 2016 were :PRESIDENT:

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

VICE PRESIDENT:ADVISOR:Dr. Dharam veer Yadav
Dr. Poorniam Manjrekar
Prof. K.P. Sinha,

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:

Dr. Praveen Sharma

GENERAL SECRETARY:

Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Sinha,

IMMEDIATE PAST SECRETARY:

Dr. M. V. R. Reddy

TREASURER:

Dr. Krishna Ranjan Prasad

JOINT SECRETARY:

Dr. Thungapatra M

ZONAL COUNCIL MEMBERS:

Dr. Ram Binay Sinha

North Zone
South Zone
East Zone
West Zone
Central Zone

Dr. Seema Bhargava
Dr. T. Vijayakumar
Dr. Abhijit Pratap
Dr. T. F. Ashavaid
Dr. Sanjeev SinghEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, IJCB:

Dr. Praveen Sharma

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVETO APFCB:Dr Rajiv R. Sinha, General Secretary,
ACBI

ACTIVITIES IN 2016
REGIONAL MEETINGS
During this year many scientific activities were organized by State / Regional chapters of
ACBI in different parts of the country.
UTTAR PRADESH BRANCH
One day CME on ―Best Practices in Laboratory Management‖ was held on 31st March
2016 at Era‘s Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow. It was organised by the
Uttar Pradesh ACBI representative Dr. Brijesh Rathore in collaboration with North Zone
ACBI representative Dr. Seema Bhargava.
TAMIL NADU BRANCHA CME meeting was arranged on 26th November 2016 at Cancer Institute, Adayar,
Chennai by Tamil Nadu State Representative, Dr. R. Arivazhagan, Head, Clinical Bio
Chemistry Dept. Cancer Institute, Adayar , Chennai.
2016 South Zone
A two day South Zone meet was organized by the Department of Clinical Biochemistry,
Christian Medical College, Vellore & the Tamil Nadu chapter of the ACBI at the CMC
Vellore. The 2 day meet covered various topics under ―Total Quality Management ofClinical Labs‖ & ―Usefulness of serum tumour markers.‖

47

APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
WEST BENGAL CHAPTERACBI West Bengal Chapter organized three day ―Hands on Workshop on Molecular
Biology Techniques‖ at IIMSAR, Haldia on 9-11 September, 2016.
DELHI STATE BRANCH(1) A CME on ‗Attaining & Maintaining Accreditation- The Challenges Along the Path‘
was organized on 4th Feb 2016 ACBI North zone branch joint association withconsortium of accreditated health care organization (CAHO) and faculty ofBiochemistry Department of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
(2) The Department of Biochemistry, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), under the aegis
of North Zone and Delhi Chapter of the Association of Clinical Biochemistry of India(ACBI), conducted the 5th annual CME titled ―BIOMARKER GUIDED
OPTIMIZATION OF PATIENT CARE‖ on Sunday, the 20th of March, 2016.
JAMMU & KASHMIR BRANCH
A one day National Seminar entitled ―CLINBIO CME 2016‖ was hosted by the
Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Sher-E-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences on
29th March 2016. The meeting was held under the aegis of Association of Clinical
Biochemists of India (ACBI) J&K Branch and ACBI North Zone.
CHANDIGARH BRANCHThe Department of Biochemistry, PGIMER, Chandigarh along with the Chandigarh
chapter of Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI), organized a one day
symposium on ―Intellectual Property Rights: Patenting in Medical Research‖ on
November 4, 2016.

ACBI ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE – 2016
The 43rd. Annual National conference of the Association was held from 12th.
To 15th December at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka. The
following activities took place in the conference;

Day 1- 12th December 2016
The Pre-conference workshops and CME programmes of ACBICON-2016 were
held at the Centre for Basic Sciences, Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru and theevent was inaugurated by the Pro vice chancellor Dr. Surendra Shetty, Manipal
University, Mangaluru Campus. The Organising Secretary Dr. Poornima Manjrekar
welcomed the participants of the workshops and the CME s as well as the membersof ACBI. The Dean and Chairperson Dr. M. Venkataraya Prabhu addressed thegathering. Dr. Anupama Hegde, Treasurer, proposed the vote of thanks.

34

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Member Societies APFCB News 2016
L-R Office bearers of ACBICON 2016 Dr. Beena Shetty, Joint Secretary, Dr. Anupama
Hegde Treasurer Dr. Poornima Manjrekar, Organising Secretary, Dr. M. Venkatraya
Prabhu, Dean and Organising Chairperson and Dr. Surendra Shetty, Pro - Vice
Chancellor, Manipal University Mangalore Campus.
The workshop on “Hemoglobin variants –the fundamentals and challenges ―had
40 participants. The Oncohematologists and Associate Professors at KMC, Mangaluru,
Dr. Prashantha and Dr. Harsha Prasad L spoke on ―Introduction to Hemoglobinopathies‖
and ―Challenges in clinical diagnosis of Hemoglobin variants, respectively. The―Challenges in pathological diagnosis‖ were discussed at length by Dr. Karuna Ramesh
Kumar ,Professor, Consultant Pathologist, Head of laboratory services, Rainbow
Hospital, Bangalore. ―Hemoglobinopathies: A genetic perspective ―was dealt by Mrs.
Priyanka Upadhyai Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba
Medical College, Manipal &. Panel Discussion followed by Industrial talk -Agar gel
electrophoresis in variant analysis: Bio-Rad. A demonstration and hands on experience
with the equipment D-10 Capillary electrophoresis in variant analysis by SEBIA was heldin the afternoon Chair persons were Dr Urmila Khadilkar, Professor, Dept. of Pathology
and Director, Central Lab, KMC, Mangaluru and Dr. Harsha Prasada L., on cohematologist KMCH.

The workshop on “Advances in laboratory management and proficiency testing―had 50 participants. Dr. Shrikala Baliga, Professor of Microbiology & NABL Assessor,
KMC, Mangaluruspoke on ―Role of accreditation in advanced lab management‖. The
session on ― Lean and Process optimization in clinical lab ― was dealt by Dr. Jayesh
Warade, Consultant Biochemist, Molecular Biology, Quality Manager, Meenakshi Mission
Hospital & Research Center, Madurai. The topic ―Auto verification of Laboratory
reports‖ was discussed by Dr. K Ashok Prabhu, Quality Manager, Associate Professor,
KMC, Mangaluru. Dr. Avinash SS, Consultant Biochemist, Father Muller Medical College,
Mangaluru spoke on ―Developing risk matrix: Risk management in the lab ―.Mr.
Sivasankar, Product specialist-Quality systems Division, BIORAD laboratories (India) Pvt
Ltd, spoke on ―EQA/ PT: A quality improvement tool‖.Mr. Sten Westgard, Director of
Client Services and Technology for Westgard Quality Control, USA. spoke on― Six Sigma
QC Management―. ―Problem solving and Panel discussion‖ was arranged in the post
lunch session Bright Light Ahead‖ by Dr. Sandeep Sewlikar Roche Diagnostics. The
Webinar on‖ IFCC Vision of Research and Career for Young Scientists‖ by Dr. Graham
Beastall, Past President IFCC was arranged in the afternoon session. Dr Bernard Gouget(IFCC-EB) and Dr. L M Shrivastava (ACBI-EB) were the chairpersons for the webinar.

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APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
The CME on” Framing clinically oriented MCQs and designing OSPE stations in
Biochemistry-A hands on approach‖ had 35 participants. Dr. Minnie Faith,
Professor of Biochemistry, Coordinator, Medical Education Department, Convener,
MCI Nodal Centre for National Faculty Development, CMC, Vellore, conducted thesessions on 1. MCQ - as an assessment tool 2. ―OSPE - where are we? Current
scenario and 3. Designing OSPE templates. Dr. Pragna Rao, Associate Dean andProfessor of Biochemistry and also the HOD of Medical Education, KMC Manipal
conducted session on ―Framing clinically oriented MCQ‖. The chair persons were Dr.
Ciraj, Deputy Director, MCPD and Director MUFILIPE and Dr. Anand R Associate
Dean and Professor of Pulmonary Medicine, and Convener of Medical Education Unit,
KMC Mangaluru. The afternoon session on Designing OSPE stations/templates - OSPE
development for I MBBS students of Biochemistry‖ was conducted by Dr. Minnie
Faith.

―The IFCC–TFYS, CME on Career Opportunities for Young Scientists‖ was attended
by 45 participants. Dr. Pradeep K Dabla, Chair, IFCC-TFYS, spoke on ―Career
Opportunities for Young Scientists- which way to go‖. The session on ―Teaching skills
for young scientists― was delivered by Dr. Ullas Kamath, Dean MMMC Manipal. Dr.
Elizabeth Frank EB APFCB & IFCC spoke on ―Biotechnology Industry and Career for
Young Scientists‖. Dr. Anna Velts, Head of Laboratory at West Tallin and Central
Hospital, Estonia, dealt with the topic ―Laboratory Service Delivery for Young
Scientists‖. The session on ―The Publishers & Medical Writing career for Young
Scientists was conducted by Dr. Praveen Sharma Chief Editor IJCB EB –ACBI APFCB.
Career Avenues in IVD industry:

Dr. Pradeep Dabla delivering on “Career Opportunities for Young Scientists- which
way to go”

50Member Societies

APFCB News 2016

Dr. Ullas Kamath, Dean MMMC Manipal spoke on “Teaching skills for young
scientists“Dr. Elizabeth Frank EB APFCB & IFCC spoke on “Biotechnology Industry and Career for
Young Scientists “

Dr. Praveen Sharma, Chief Editor IJCB, EB –ACBI, APFCB spoke on “The Publishers &Medical Writing career for Young Scientists

51

PRESIDENT:

Dr. Praveen Sharma

Dr. Rajendra Prasad
APFCB News 2016
Member Societies

VICE PRESIDENT:

Dr. S. V. Rana

ADVISOR:

Prof. K.P. Sinha,

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Dr. Jayashree Bhattacharya

Day 2 of Conference13th December 2016
Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Sinha

GENERAL SECRETARY:IMMEDIATE PAST SECRETARY: Dr. M. V. R. Reddy

ofKrishna
the ACBICON
2016 at Dr. TMA Pai International Convention
TREASURER: The second dayDr.
Ranjan PrasadCentre, started with the plenary session 9.00 AM by Mr. Sten Westgard, Director of
Dr. Jairam Rawtan
Client Services and Technology for Westgard Quality Control, USA. The topic was
Dr. from
Ram Binay
Sinha
Assuring Quality
A (lbumin)
to V (iral load): How High Quality Assays
can drive operational efficiencies and assure good clinical outcomes.

JOINT SECRETARY:

The Awadesh Saran Memorial Oration on the topic Inborn errors of
metabolism; An overview and our experience was delivered by Dr. D M
Vasudevan. The chair persons were Dr. Praveen Sharma & Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The
next session Seth G.S. Medical College &K.E.M. Hospital Oration was deliveredby Dr. H Vinod Bhat Vice Chancellor, Manipal University. The chair persons were
Dr. Elizabeth Frank & Dr. Bernard Gouget. The K.L. Gupta Memorial Oration on
the topic Perspectives of tumor markers in clinical oncology in the era of
personalized medicine was delivered by Dr. K.S. Gopinath, Padmashree awardee,
Surgical Oncologist, HCG Bangalore Institute of Oncology. The chair persons were
Dr. Jayashree Bhattacharjee & Dr. T Malathi. The inauguration of the industrial
exhibition was done by Dr. Praveen Sharma President, Corporate wing of ACBI and
Dr. Poornima Manjrekar, Organising Secretary ACBICON 2016
The SYMPOSIA 1 on Cardio vascular Diseases, SYMPOSIA 2 on Cancer and
SYMPOSIA 3 on Lab Management started simultaneously at Auditorium, Hall A andHall B after the tea break at 11.15 A.M. In the symposia on Cardiovascular Diseases,
the speakers Dr. Ashok Chandra Rao, Dr. Chandrika Meegama and Dr. Narasimha Pai
delivered talks on interesting special sessions and was chaired by Dr. M V Prabhu and
Dr. Damodar Shenoy. This was followed by the industrial talk by Beckman Coulter In
the symposia on Cancer, the speakers Dr. Praveen Kumar Shetty and Dr.
Rajamanickam Arivazhagan delivered important topics and the sessions were chaired
by Dr. T Ramasarma and Dr. Taruna Madan. Next sessions in Cancer were deliveredby Dr. Shyam prakash and Dr. Satya Vati Rana. In the symposia on Lab Management,
Dr. Tony Badrick spoke on ―Data mining Sigma metrics‖ and Dr. Abha Gupta on―Mass spectroscopy‘. The chair persons were Sten Westgard & Dr. A K
Mukhyopadhay. Next sessions in lab Management were by Dr. Shyamali Pal, and Dr.
Shilpa Puthran, and the chair persons were Dr. Chakrapani M and Dr. T. Malathi.
The poster sessions were arranged during lunch break. The webinar on ―Highsensitive Trop-I” by Dr. Jaganathan Sickan and ―Next gene sequencing intransforming oncology― by Dr. Kahlil Lawless were arranged at Auditorium. The
oral presentations for young speakers to showcase their research, were held at threehalls simultaneously between 4-5PM In the evening, the keynote address by theesteemed chief guest Dr. P. Jayadeva Bhat ,Professor, Dept. of Biosciences andBioengineering, IIT, Mumbai on the topic “About Men, Mice and Yeast :Perspective from the Vantage point” was lucid and relevant with anecdotes andwas well appreciated by the delegates. This was followed by the inauguration
ceremony. The inauguration ceremony began with Invocation by Mrs. Aradhana
Marathe. The welcome address was delivered by Dr. M.V. Prabhu, the Dean andOrganising Chairperson of ACBICON 2016. The formal inauguration by lighting thelamp was done by all the dignitaries. The presidential address was delivered by Dr.
Rajendra Prasad. The annual report was briefed by Dr. R.R. Sinha General Secretary.
This was followed by the speech by Guest of Honour - Dr. H.S. Ballal, Pro chancellor,
Manipal University. The release of Souvenir was done by Pro vice chancellor Dr.
Surendra Shetty, Manipal University, Mangaluru Campus. The various fellowships andawards were granted and followed by the felicitation to the awardees. The chief guest
Dr. P. Jayadeva Bhat addressed the gathering and shared his experiences. This wasfollowed by the installation of the new President. Dr. Poornima A. Manjrekar took
over as the President for the ACBICON 2017 from the immediate past president Dr.
Rajendra Prasad, Professor and Head of the department of Biochemistry, PGIChandigarh. Dr. Poornima A. Manjrekar, proposed the vote of thanks.

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Member Societies

APFCB News 2016

The cultural extravaganza organized by the postgraduates of Biochemistry dept andMBBS students of KMC Mangaluru, was appreciated and applauded by the delegates.

Day 3- 14th December 2016
The third day of the ACBICON 2016,started with the plenary session at9.00 AM by
Dr. Bernard Gouget, Chair, IFCC Nominations Committee on“ POCT Emerging
applications for improving clinical outcomes and a new pathway to better
patient care”.
The G.P. Talwar Memorial Oration on the topic Human
Surfactant Protein D: A ray of hope against HIV was delivered by Dr. Taruna
Madan, from National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Innate
Immunity, and Mumbai. The chair persons were Dr Kodliwadmath & Dr. D M
Vasudevan. The next session Dr. Taranath Shetty Memorial Oration wasdelivered by Dr. Dr. G G.Laxman Prabhu, Professor & Head, Dept. of Urology,
KMC, and Mangaluru. He spoke on ―Biochemical Fascinations”. The chair persons
were Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Sinha & Dr. P S Shukla. The Dr. T.N. Pattabhiraman orationon the topic “Role of Biomarkers for Aneuploidy as predictors of adverse
obstretic outcome”, was delivered by Dr. Jayashree Bhattacharjee, Director
Professor, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. The chair persons were Dr.
Arun Raizada & Dr. Praveen Sharma.
The SYMPOSIA 4 on Diabetes Mellitus , SYMPOSIA 5 on Oxidative stressand SYMPOSIA 6 on Neurological Disorders started simultaneously at Hall A,
Hall B and Hall C after the tea break at 11.15 A.M. In the symposia on Diabetes
Mellitus, the speakers Dr. Sivasankaran S and Dr. R Dhananjayan delivered talks
on interesting special sessions and was chaired by Dr. Chakrapani M and Dr. R. L
.Kamath .Next two sessions were by Dr. PVLN Srinivasa Rao and Dr. Manorama
Swain. The chair persons were Dr. Krishnaranjan Prasad & Dr. B Unnikrishnan. In the
symposia on Oxidative stress the speakers Dr. Tangirala Rama Sarma and Dr.
Prasunpriya Nayak delivered important sessions were chaired by Dr. Abbas Ali
Mahdi & Dr. Balakrishna Agarwal. Next sessions were delivered by Dr. Subir
Kumar Das and Dr. Akila Prashant. The chair persons were Dr. Tapadia and Dr.
Rachel Jacob.In the symposia on Neurological Disorders, Dr. A. K Mukhopadhyay,
Dr. B S Shankaranarayana Rao and Dr. Prakash Mungli. The chair persons were Dr.
Anjali Rao and Dr. Vivian D‘Souza. The poster sessions were arranged during lunch
break. The SYMPOSIA 7 on Special Talks, SYMPOSIA 8 on Infectious Diseases
and SYMPOSIA 9 on Trace minerals started simultaneously at Hall A, Hall B andHall C after lunch at 2.00 PM.
Under symposia on Special Talks, Dr. Kannan Vaidyanathan, Dr. Pradeep Kumar
Dabla, and Dr. Sudeep K, delivered interesting talks. The chair persons were Dr.
PVLN Srinivasa Rao and Dr. Molly Jacob Symposia 8 on Infectious Diseases hadinteresting sessions by Dr. Seema Bhargava and Dr. Sukhes Mukherjee. The chairpersons were Dr. Urmila Khadilkar and Dr. Anand R. In the symposia 9 on Trace
Minerals, Dr. Abbas Ali Mahdi, Dr Anjali Manocha, and Dr. Molly Jacobdelivered their topics of interest. The chair persons were Dr. Tony Badrick and Dr.
Virupaksha.
This was followed by Industrial talk by Kopran and the oral presentations for young
speakers to showcase their research were held at three halls simultaneously between
4-5PM. The AFMC Quiz was conducted by Dr. Shiva Shankara and Dr. Shailaja,
Associate professors of Biochemistry FMMC, Mangaluru. The postgraduates fromvarious colleges participated.

38

The general body meeting was held from 6 PM and new office bearers were
elected at the same venue. The Banquet Dinner was arranged at the seaside ―CITY
BEACH‖, Boloor

53

APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
Day 4- 15th December 2016
The fourth day of the ACBICON 2016, started with the oral presentations for young
speaker‘s .The next session was plenary session at10 AM by Dr. Satyamoorthy K.
Professor & Director, School of Life Sciences, Manipal University. He spoke on―Impact of epigenetic modifications on cervical cancer progression.
The poster sessions were arranged during tea break. The SYMPOSIA 10 on
Biomarkers, SYMPOSIA 11 on Molecular Biology and Genetics started
simultaneously at Hall A and Hall B from 11 AM. Oral presentations started at Hall C
after tea break
Under symposia on Biomarkers, Dr. Anna Velts and Dr. M K Unnikrishnan and
Dr. Sadanand Naik delivered interesting talks.
Symposia 11 on Molecular Biology and Genetics had interesting sessions by Dr.
Radhakrishnan Nair, Dr. Anirban Chakraborty and Dr. Medha Rajappa. The
chair persons were Dr. Satyamoorthy K and Dr. Ullas Kamath.
Award session & faculty oral presentations were held from 11.45 AM onwards
simultaneously at Hall A, Hall B and Hall C. Industrial Talk by Transasia was arranged atHall B at 1 PM.
This was followed by the valedictory function bringing the curtain down on 4 days ofintense, high level scientific sessions. The Organizing Secretary, Dr. Poornima
Manjrekar thanked all the delegates and volunteers for making the conference a grandsuccess. The Chancellor, Manipal University congratulated Dr. Poornima Manjrekar
and her team for the successful organization of the conference. After this Awards,
Certificates and cash prizes were distributed to all the award winners. The General
Secretary, ACBI, Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Sinha in his valedictory address heartily congratulated
all the organizing committee members and volunteers for their untiring efforts in making
the ACBICON 2016, national conference a great success. In the General Body held
during the conference, the members elected the following as Executive committee
members for the year 2017. Dr. Poornima Manjrekar as PRESIDENT. , Dr. Abaas A.
Mahdi Vice President (I) & Organising Secretary ACBICON 2017. Dr. Jairam
Rawtani as Vice President (II), Prof. K. P. Sinha as Advisor ACBI and Dr. Rajiv Ranjan
Sinha as General Secretary. The Joint secretaries elected were Dr. Anupama Hegde& Dr. Ram Binay Sinha. Dr. Krishna Ranjan Prasad was elected as Treasurer. The
Zonal Council members elected were Dr. Dharamveer Yadav (North Zone), Dr
Kanan Vaidyanathan (South Zone), Dr. A. N. Roy (East Zone), Dr. Sadanand Naik(West Zone) & Shivani Pandey (Central Zone).

AWARDS:
ACBI FELLOWSHIP AWARD ( FACBI)
1. Dr. Bal Krishna Agarawal, Indore
ACBI- A. J. THAKUR DISTINGUISHED CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTS AWARD
Dr. Arun Raizada, Senior Consultant – Biochemistry, Department of Pathology & Lab
Medicine, Medanta , Gurgaon.
ACBI ORATION AWARDS, 2016
AWADHESH SARAN MEMORIAL ORATION
Dr. D. M. Vasudevan, Head, PG Programs and Research, Amrita Institute of Medical
Sciences, Kochi
SETH G. S. MEDICAL COLLEGE & KEM HOSPITAL ORATION
Dr. H. Vinod Bhat, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka
DR T. N. PATTABIRAMAN ORATION AWARD
Dr. Jayshree Bhattacharjee, Professor, Department Of Biochemistry, Lady Hardinge
Medical College, Delhi

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APFCB News 2016

K. L. GUPTA MEMORIAL ORATION
Dr. K. S. Gopinath, Padmashree, Surgical oncologist, HCG hospitals, Bengaluru
MRS. & DR G. P. TALWAR ORATION AWARDDr Taruna Madan Gupta
DR. TARANATH SHETTY MEMORIAL ORATION AWARD POPULAR
LECTURE SERIESDr. G. G. Lakshman Prabhu, Prof. & Head, Dept of Urology, Kasturba Medical
College, Mangaluru

OTHER AWARDS
K.P. SINHA - P.S. KRISHNAN AWARD FOR BEST PAPER PUBLISHEDIN IJCB (2016):
Ankit Verma and N.C. Chandra
Differential Expressions of p53, p53R2, hRRM2 and PBR in Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukemia: A Correlation with Intracellular Cholesterol, Vol. - 31, No.-3, Year2016.
PITABUS – JAMUNA BURMA MEMORIAL AWARD
Anurag Yadav, Father Mullers Medical college, Mangalore - Comparative
Assessment of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) and Cystatin C
as Early Biomarkers for Early Detection of Renal Failure in Patients with
Hypertension
DR. P. S. MURTHY AWARD
1. PS Murthy Award in CVD – Srilatha K, SRMC, Chennai
2. PS Murthy Award in Diabetes - Balakrishna Pai, Sri Manakula Vinayagar
Medical College & Hospital, Pondicherry
Study of SNP s of RAGE and its association with micro and macro vascularcomplications of type 2 DM
3. PS Murthy Award in Drug Development from plant sources- Amith
Kumar, KMC, Mangalore
Antioxidant ,anti-inflammatory and radiation mitigating effects of hydro alcoholic leaf
extracts of p.americana in albino wistar rats.
4. PS Murthy Award in Infectious Diseases- Suprabha Nayak
Apoptosis and pattern of CD4 cells in intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn’s disease –Diagnostic implications.
DR SITA DEVI AWARD
Sriram Naresh, VIMS Tirupathi- Utility of saliva in measurement of thyroid hormones.
NIMS BEST POSTER AWARD
In the Field of CANCER:
Sarvari G. -Study of adiponectin and leptin levels in postmenopausal obese breast
cancerIn the Field of NON-CANCER: S. Banerjee
A pilot study to determine the differential methylation pattern in Indian population withcoronary artery disease.
MGIMS (SEWAGRAM) AWARD
Daisy Maria Samadanami - p-Selectin, a possible predictor of disease progression insevere Dengue infection

Dr. P. Usha Sarma Best Poster Award in Genomic Proteonomic
sciences – Clinical Application:

Salma Taj S A - Mangiferin, a C-glucosylxanthone, ameliorates the arsenic induced
cytotoxicity in IEC-6 cell line

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APFCB News 2016

Member Societies

AFMC QUIZ AWARDFIRST PRIZE: Shruthi Rai
SECOND PRIZE: Kajalakshmi
ACBI YOUNG SCIENTIST BURSARY
Full Bursary: C Raghavi, JIPMER, Pondicherry
Partial Bursary: K. Srinivasulu, JIPMER, Pondicherry
ACBI TRAVEL AWARD
Sriram Naresh, VIMS, and Tirupathi
IFCC AWARDS
Dr Angel Mercy Sylus (Effect of clomiphene citrate on nitric oxide IL- 10 and MMP-9 inwomen with polycystic ovary syndrome)
1. Dr. Chiranjit Ghosh (Monitoring of blood glucose profile from extended breath analysis
for the diagnosis of pre-diabetes and type II diabetes)
2. Dr. Namita Mahalle (Oral administration of cyanocobalamin causes higher increase incirculating holotranscobalamin than hydroxocobalamin: An Indo-Danish study withdifferent doses of cobalamin)
3. Dr. Prasenjit Mitra (Isolation and charecterisation of a compound from the leaves of
Ageratum Conyzoides Linn. Responsible for antigastriculcer activity in albino rats)
4. Dr. G. Revathy (Does Methotrexate monotherapy ameliorate systemic inflammationand endothelial dysfunction in Psoriasis)
The next Annual conference of Association of Clinical Biochemists of India will be heldat Lucknow (UP, India) from 4th to 6th December 2017 with Dr. Abbas A. Mahdi,
Professor & Head, Department of Biochemistry, King George‘s Medical University as
the Organizing secretary. More news would appear on website: www.acbindia.org.

The Office Bearers elected for the year 2017 are:
PRESIDENT

Dr. Poornima Manjrekar (Mangalore)

VICE PRESIDENT(1) Dr. Abbas A. Mahdi (Lucknow)(2) Dr. Jairam Rawtani (Jodhpur)

GENERAL SECRETARY

Dr. Rajiv R. Sinha (Patna, Bihar)

ADVISORDr. K P. Sinha (Patna, Bihar)

TREASURER

Dr. K R. Prasad (Patna, Bihar)

JOINT SECRETARY(1) Dr. Anupama Hegde (Mangalore)(2) Dr. Ram Binay Sinha Patna)

Zonal council members
North Zone

Dr. Dharamveer Yadav

South Zone

Dr. Kanan Vaidyanathan

East Zone

Dr. A. N. Roy

West Zone

Dr. Sadanand Naik

Central Zone

Dr. Shivani Pandey

North Zone

Dr. Dharamveer Yadav

Immediate past president: Dr. Rajendra Prasad (Chandigarh)

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Member Societies

APFCB News 2016

Hong Kong Society of Clinical
Chemistry (HKSCC)HKSCC HALF-YEAR REPORT OF 2016
The year started with the newly elected office bearers elected at the Annual General
Meeting (AGM) of the Hong Kong Society of Clinical Chemistry held on 23 January
2016, taking up their office. The office bearers elected were:
President
Vice President
Immediate Past President
Secretary
Treasurer
Council Members

Dr Doris CK CHING
Mr Yun Chuen LO
Ms Judy PS LAI
Dr Iris HS CHAN
Ms Cybil TY WONG
Prof YM Dennis LO
Prof Allen CK CHAN
Prof Joseph LEE
Dr Liz YP YUEN
Dr Lydia CW LIT
Dr Eric LK LAW
Dr Jeffery SS KWOK
Mr Michael HK LEE
Ms Karen KT LAW
Mr Eric WK WONG

National Representative to IFCC
National Representative to APFCB
Representative to FMSHKProf Allen CK CHAN
Dr Doris CK CHINGProf Joseph LEE

Dr. Graham Jones of St Vincent‘s Hospital, Sydney, Australia was the APFCB
Travelling Lecturer. He was invited to deliver two APFCB lectures entitled: ―Chronic
Kidney Disease – the Role of the Routine Laboratory‖ and ―HbA1c –Measurement
and Interpretation‖ in the 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM).There were also 5
presentations from the industries (Roche, Abbott, Thermo-Fisher, Beckman-Coulterand AB Sciex).The 14 industrial booth exhibitions and lectures were well attended byover 190 members and guests.
Education activities for the year carried on with presentations by distinguishedacademia and scientists. Two scientific meetings were organized in the first half yearof 2016:
1.

2.

Professor Mitchell G. Scott, External Examiner for Chemical Pathology, Chinese
University of Hong Kong delivered a dinner lecture at the Cordis Hong Kong Hotelon 12 April 2016. The title of his talk was ‗Laboratory Testing for Growth Hormone
Abuse in Sports Perspective‘. The event was attended by 110 members and guests.
A joint afternoon seminar with Hong Kong College of Pathology (HKCPath) was heldat Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 7June. Dr John Christopher Coakley, Specialist in
paediatric/ neonatal chemical pathology, has been appointed the RCPA Visiting
Lecturer 2016 and he delivered two lectures on ―Investigation of Jaundice in Infants
and Children‖ and ―Lipid Problems in Children‖. To keep abreast of the recent
advances and service developments of Clinical Chemistry in Hong Kong locality,
presentations were followed and delivered by two distinguished members: Dr Chloe
Mak and Dr Felix Wong. Dr Mak introduced ―Pilot Study of Newborn Screening forInborn Errors of Metabolism in collaboration with Department of Health and Hospital
Authority‖ and Dr Wong highlighted ―Inborn Errors of Carbohydrate Metabolism:
two recent cases in Hong Kong‖. The event was attended by about 100 members andguests.

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APFCB News 2016

Member Societies

Council 2016 – 2017

ASM 2016 (23 Jan 2016) APFCB Travelling Lecture: Dr Graham Jones

Dinner lecture (12 April 2016): Professor Mitchell G. Scott

47

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APFCB News 2016

Joint seminar (07 June 2016): Dr John Christopher Coakley

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APFCB News 2016

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46

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APFCB News 2016

Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry
Annual Report of 2016 (KSCC)
Annual Reports of Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry (KSCC) 2016
National Meetings
Name of the
MeetingAnnualMeeting of
KSCC (I)

Date

Topic

2016.
5.12.

Symposium 1; Quality Improvements Related to Excellent
Laboratory Accreditations
Symposium 2; Research Highlights
Symposium 3; Industry Workshop (New tests in the field ofClinical Chemistry)
Symposium 4; Understanding and Application of Tests ofTumor Markers (II)AnnualMeeting of
KSCC (II)2016. 10.
14.

Symposium 1; Laboratory Information System (LIS) Related to
Excellent Laboratory Accreditations
Symposium 2; From A to Z for the Tests of Lipid
Symposium 3; Industry workshop (New tests in the field ofUrinalysis and Urine Sediment Analysis)
Symposium 4; Current status and Considerations on the Drugof Abuse Tests

1.

Education

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

2.

Procedure manuals of clinical chemistry laboratory
Tumour markers
LIS
The basic requirements of accredited laboratory
New tests in clinical chemistry
New tests in urinalysis and urine sediment analysis
The role of the laboratory medicine in nutritional support; emerging considerations
especially in vitamin D

International Relations

1.
2.

3.

KSCC was delegated of logistics of authority from APFCB to facilitate participationin the APFCB 2016
KSCC attended ‗APFCB 2016‘ as 6 KSCC members participated as the speakers inthe symposia No. 3, 8, 10, and 21 of APFCB 2016 and more than 30 KSCC
members attended the APFCB 2016 congress in Taiwan
Participation in the IFCC Visiting Lecturer Programs (VLP) S
speaker : Prof. Howard Morris
Title 1> Is vitamin D critical for improved health outcomes? When to assess
vitamin D status
Title 2> Healthcare, laboratory medicine, patient care47
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APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.

2.

Additional Information : The Change of the Council Members of KSCC;
New Officer bearer of KSCC (2017-2018)

1.
2.

President : Pf. Jeong-Ho Kim (Yonsei University College of Medicine)
Secretary General : Pf. Sang-Hoon Song (Seoul National University College ofMedicine)
Treasurer : Dr. Hwan Sub Lim (Seoul Clinical Laboratories)
International Committee : Dr. Sung Eun Cho (Lab Genomics Clinical Laboratories)

3.
4.

62

Working APFCB committee members (2016)- Prof. Yong Hwa Lee for the education and laboratory management committee- Dr. Hwan Sub Lim for the communications committee
IFCC Network Laboratory for HbA1c in Korea (2012 - present)
Prof. Junghan Song was working as a member of the ‗International Scientific Advisory
Board of IFCC World Lab Durban 2017‘
Prof. Hyung-Doo Park was working as a member of the ‗IFCC C-STFT(Standardization of FT4 and Harmonization of TSH Measurement)
KSCC became to be admitted to be one of the National and Regional Members of
JCTLM

Member Societies

APFCB News 2016

Indonesian Association for Clinical
Chemistry (IACC)
IACC Activities 2016 for APFCB News second semester
1.

Workshop and Seminar

IACC held Quality Control Workshops and Seminar. Cooperates with Abbott
Diagnostic IACC held Six Sigma Series with Dr. Sten Westgard from USA. The topic
of this Workshop and Seminar is Internal Quality Control Troubleshooting andInterpretation of External Quality Assurance. This seminar held in Borobudur Hotel
Jakarta on Saturday, 27th October 2016 and attended by 150 participants of Clinical
Pathologist, Laboratory Scientist and Medical Technologist from some cities ofIndonesia.

President IACC, dr. July Kumalawati, DMM., SpPK(K) opened IACC Six Sigma Series Seminarwith Dr. Sten Westgard
Right after opened the Seminar, Dr. July Kumalawati, SpPK DMM delightedly announce
the Executive Board Member of IACC period 2016-2019 to all of participants.

Some of IACC Executive Board Member 2016-2019 taken picture with Dr. Sten Westgard
after the Workshop and Seminar.

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APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
2.

IACC - Semarang Branch

IACC EB supported Seminar in Semarang Central Java province of Indonesia. Cooperated
with Diponegoro University and Indonesian Association of Clinical Pathology Semarang
branch, IACC Semarang branch held Seminar and Workshop on Urinalysis. The workshop
and seminar was attended by 250 participants.

Dr. Indranila, SpPK the head of IACC Semarang Branch opened the Scientific Seminar
during Dies Natalis of Medical Faculty of Diponegoro University Semarang.

Dr. Purwanto, SpPK the head of IACP Semarang had opening speech in the Scientific
Seminar during Dies Natalis of Medical Faculty of Diponegoro University Semarang.

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Workshop Update in Urinalysis in Diagnostic held by IACC Semarang Branch.
3.

MIHY Program

May I Help You Program is the pre analytic survey held by IACC in cooperation
with BD. Through this program we share our knowledge to increase the qualityof pre analytic phase in Laboratory Medicine in Indonesia.
IACC proudly share the MIHYC program in IFCC Congress 2016, AACC
Congress 2016 and APFCB Congress 2016 through Dra. Endang Hoyaranda.
In 2016, there were 24 clinical labs and hospital labs that run this programmes.
From 2011, we have made the pre-analytic survey in 70 outlets.

Dra. Endang Hoyaranda spoke about Pre analytic Improvement – Indonesia experience &the APFCB initiative during 14th APFCB Congress 2016 in Taipei Taiwan

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APFCB News 2016 Member Societies
4.

PROJECT OF INDONESIA PEDIATRIC REFERENCE INTERVAL (PIPER Study)

IACC and new Board of Indonesian Association of Pediatrics (IDAI) have ameeting to draft the MOU to hold the study for set up the reference range forIndonesian child population.
5.

Result Interpretation And Commenting Program

IACC launched the online training on result interpretation and commenting
through IACC website namely www.hkki.org . We called this program byInteractive Case Study. Every three month we update the case study and result.

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Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
The 56th annual meeting of the Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry
Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC) holds a general and scientific meeting annually. In
2016, it was held in Kumamoto and achieved a great success. Kumamoto was attacked by thehuge earthquake in April, but it revived. We are very sorry to hear the earthquake, but we allcelebrated the great success for the annual meeting in Kumamoto. The following result was
obtained from the chairman of the annual meeting, Prof. Ando.
56th annual meeting of Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC) was held in Kumamoto,Japan from December 2-4, 2016. President and Vice president of the meeting were
Professor Ando Y, Professor of Department of Neurology, and Department of Diagnostic
Medicine, Professor Matsui H, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University,
respectively. Approximately 700 participants gathered to the meeting from all over Japan.
Two special lectures, 5 educational programs, 6 symposiums, and 9 luncheon seminars wereplanned, and 92 oral presentations were performed. As a foreign invited lecture, Dr.
Soininen P was invited to the meeting.

The attached photograph is a snap shot of the annual meeting in Kumamoto.
In 2016 JSCC sponsored a symposium in the 14th APFCB congress in Taiwan.
Congratulations for a great success, Dr. Fang.
(Written by Maekawa M, President of JSCC)

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Member Societies

MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL
BIOCHEMISTS (MACB)
President

Raja Dr. Elina Raja Aziddin

Vice President

Tunku Marinah Ashraf Tunku Abdullah

Secretary

MohdJokha Yahya

Treasurer

Chen Bee Chin

Council members

Dr. Badrul Amin iAbd RashidSivasangkari Supremaniam
Vani A/P Munusamy
Shawal Maradona Abdul Wahab

Chair of Scientific Sub Committee

Raja Dr Elina Raja Aziddin

Chair of Education Sub Committee

Tunku Marinah Ashraf Tunku Abdullah

Chair of Publication & Publicity Sub

JaleezahIdris

Committee
Chair of Corporate Affairs Sub Committee

Norhazwati Mokhtar

Chair of MACB Conference Organising

Chen Bee Chin

Committee
EDUCATION SUBCOMMITEE REPORTIn 2016 MACB Education Sub Committee organised the following programs:

1. Workshops


Risk Management on 22 – 23 February 2016 and attended by 56 people. Raja Dr
Elina conducted the workshop.
Safty and Health in Medical Laboratories on 30 – 31 May 2016 and attended by 41
people. The workshop was coordinated by Chen Bee Chin and conducted byherself, Dr. Gogilan and Mr. Seah

2. APFCB-MACB Course
The MACB organised the APFCB-MACB Chemical Pathology Course for the first timein Kuala Lumpur with assistance from the APFCB. The course was held at the Grand
Seasons Hotel on 19 – 21 September 2016. The course was officiated by Mr. Joseph
Lopez, past-president of APFCB.

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Speakers were Dr LohTze Ping (Singapore), Dr Louse Wienholt(Australia), Professor Dr.
Tony Badrick (Australia) Raja Dr Elina(Malaysia).

The course was attended by more than 50 participants comprising of Chemical
Pathologists, Biochemists, Laboratory Scientists, Medical Doctors, Medical andLaboratory Technologists both from public and private hospitals and laboratories from allover Malaysia. The course also had 2 participants from Hong Kong. There were also
attended by 2 representatives from the diagnostic industry.
The course aims to help participants prepare for a professional examination which is
expected to be carried out in 2018.

3. Curriculum for skills training for Clinical Biochemists
MACB collaborated with the Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human
Resources Malaysia Ministry to develop the curriculum for skills training for Clinical
Biochemists. This National Occupational Skills Standard (Clinical Biochemistry,
Level 5) document was successfully completed in December 2016.

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MACB SCIENTIFIC SUBCOMMITEE REPORT
1. The MACB Scientific Sub Committee organized the following seminars
and workshops:―CAP Accreditation and Best Practices in Laboratory Quality Improvement‖ by Ms.
Noel Adachi, Vice President, College of American Pathologists, Northfield, Illinois
USA and Dr. Maria Borges, Director Qual Assure Diagnostica Mumbai, India wasattended by 41 participants. This seminar was jointly organized with Beckman Coulterand College of American Pathologists and was held at Specialist Complex andAmbulatory Care Centre (SCACC), Hospital Kuala Lumpur on 10 December 2015.
2. ―Impact of Point of Care Testing (POCT) on Patient Flow‖ by Philip Weihser, ProjectManager and POCT Coordinator from James Paget University Hospital was attended
by 86 participants. This seminar was jointly organized with Transmedic Healthcare
SdnBhd and was held at Dermatology Auditorium, Hospital Kuala Lumpur on 3 March
2016.
3. ―Managing Quality in the Medical Laboratory – Quality Strategic Planning and Digital
Management of QC‖ by Nico Vandepoele, member of CLSI GP 27 'Using Proficiency
Testing and Alternative Assessment to Improve Medical Laboratory Quality; Third
Edition' was attended by 134 participants. The seminar was jointly organized with
Chemopharm SdnBhd and was held at Medical Academies of Malaysia on 21 April
2016
1.

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4.

―Understanding the Science behind Tumour Marker Assay Design and How This
Impacts Patient Sample Handling and Results‖ by Mikki Koo, PhD, ProductManager, SWA Reagents, Professional Diagnostics, Regional Business Development,
Asia Pacific was attended by 48 participants. This seminar was jointly organized with
Roche Diagnostics (M) SdnBhd and was held at Specialist Complex and Ambulatory
Care Centre (SCACC), Hospital Kuala Lumpur on 22 April 2016.

5.

―Risk Management and IQCP for POCT Management in BGA‖ by Prof J. Nicols,
CLSI POCT Subcommittee. This seminar was jointly organised with Straits Scientific(M) SdnBhd and was held at Pullman City Centre Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 19th May
2016.

6.

C-RIDL GLOBAL Multi-Center Study On Reference Values
The MACB is also participating in the C-RIDL study on reference values in Malaysia.
The committee held two meetings in 4meetings in 2016 and decided that the
population size of the study will be and subjects will be from the four main ethnic
groups and will be from West Malaysia. The testing laboratories chosen are UMMC,
PPUKM and Pantai Premier Pathology. The study is currently ongoing.

MACB 26TH CONFERENCE 2016
The 26thMACB conference was held from 18th -19th July in Berjaya Time Square Hotel,
Kuala Lumpur with 230 participants attending the conference. The participants werefrom the whole country, including government and private hospitals, Universities andlaboratories, as well as several foreign delegates.
The theme for this year conference is ‗Advancing Laboratory Medicine for a Healthy
Nation‘ which featured current topics in the areas of diabetes management, point ofcare testing and the impact of race and ethnicity on laboratory tests. Conference
program included 5 plenary lectures, 1 symposium and 5 educational workshops.
Current research in the fields of clinical biochemistry was presented through posters andoral presentations. A scientific exhibition was also held alongside with the conference toprovide participants the latest cutting-edge technologies and innovations in the field oflaboratory medicine. The exhibitors were from Siemens (M) SdnBhd, Roche Diagnostics,
Abbott Laboratories, All Eights (M), Diagnostic care, Sysmex and few other companies
who gave continuous support and contribution to the association.
PARTICIPATION IN THE APFCB CONGRESS 2016 IN TAIPEI, TAIWANThe MACB sent a delegation of 7 people to attend the APFCB Conference 2016 in
Taipei. The APFCB General Meeting was represented by the MACB president. At themeeting the MACB also made a bid to host the APFCB Congress in 2021 but lost toAustralia.

The president also attended the APFCB Scientific Committee meeting chaired by Professor
Kiyoshi Ichihara and the CKD meeting chaired by Dr Graham Jones.

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Performance of Maglumi hs-cTnI (CLIA method)
Li Y 1, Liu Q Y 1, Lin Y L 1, Hang J R 1
1
Affiliated Nanjing Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu,
P.R.C.
1. Background:High-sensitivity Troponin (hs-cTnI) assays, in the guidelines of ACC and ESC, should havea coefficient of variation (CV) less than 10% at the 99th percentile value in the populationof interest. To be classified as high-sensitivity assays, concentrations below the 99th
percentile should be detectable above the assay‘s limit of detection for >50% of healthy
individuals in the population of interest. hs-cTnI could have several distinct roles in clinicalpractice:(1)Earlier diagnosis and rule out of myocardial infarction (MI);(2) risk stratificationin acute cardiac conditions and prognostic information in stable disease states. In thisstudy, we verify the 99th percentile, sensitivity and system comparison of Maglumi hscTnI (CLIA) in Chinese population on fully-auto chemiluminescence immunoassay
analyzer (Maglumi 4000).
2. Methods and Materials
2.1 Methods
99th percentile of Healthy population: By using our laboratory information system,
we identified and collected 212 clinical healthy sample bases on EP28-A3c.
2.2 Materials
We currently perform the hs-cTnI were determined with chemiluminescent automatedmethod on Maglumi 4000 analyzer (SNIBE, China) and STAT hs-cTnI were tested byArchitect i4000SR (Abbott, USA).
Table 1 hs-cTnI Specimens Concentration distribution
Con. (pg/mL)
Proportion

≤10
10%

10-26
60%

27-500
20%

≥500
10%

2.3 Statistical analysis
Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS 19.0 (SPSS Inc.USA)3. Results
3.1 99th percentile of Healthy population: During the study period, a total of 212
serial specimens were analyzed for hs-cTnI. The performance of 99th percentile is7.987pg/mL, CV<10% was achieved (Fig 1,2.)
3.2 Performance of sensitivity: (1) LOB： hs-cTnI-free human serum were tested 60
times in 3 consecutive days, LOB=1.368 pg/mL. (2)LOD: the difference of SD 1, SD2, SD
3 and SD 4 were not statistically significant (P> 0.05), SDL was 1.017 pg/mL, LOD=3.040
pg/mL. (3) Limit of Quantification (LOQ, CV=10%) and CV at 99th percentile: curve of
CV-Con were fitted, y= 0.8865x-0.933. When y=7.987 pg/mL, x=9.4%,
CV of 99th percentile was 9.4%; when x=10%, y=7.597 pg/mL, LOQ is 7.597 pg/mL(Fig 2).
3.3 System Comparison: 169 serum samples from hospitalized patients were collected
and tested on both systems, results comparison shown in Fig 3.

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Fig 1 The performance of 99th percentile

Fig 2 CV of 99th percentile and LOQ

Fig3 System comparison between Maglumi 4000 and Architect i4000SR

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Table 1 Analytical characteristics of commercial cardiac troponin I and T assays declared by the manufacturer
Company/platform/
assay

99th %(ng/L)%CV at99th %

10 % CV(ng/L)

LOB(ng/L)

LOD(ng/L)

Acceptance designation

Assay designation

Roche E 2010/cobas e 411 hs-TnT

14

10.0

13

--

5

guideline acceptable

Level 4Beckman Coulter Access AccuTnI+3

40

10

40

＜10

10

guideline acceptable

Level 3Tosoh ST AIA-PACK cTnI(3rd gen)

40

10

35

8

guideline acceptable

Level 4Siemens ADVIA Centaur® TnI-Ultra™

40

8.8

30

6

--

guideline acceptable

Level 1

Abbott Architect STAT hs-cTnI

26.2

4.0

4.7

0.7-1.3

1.1-1.9

guideline acceptable

Snibe, Maglumi hs-cTnI

7.987

9.4

7.597

1.368

3.040

guideline acceptable

Conclusions:

In this study, we verified the 99th percentile, detection Capability of Maglumi hs-cTnIbase on Chinese population, and conducted System Comparison with Abbott Architect
STAT hs-cTnI. The 99th percentile of Maglumi hs-cTnI is 7.987 pg/mL, with CV 9.4%(＜10%)[2], meanwhile 167 cases out of 212 serums samples from healthy person give
results higher than LOD (3.040 pg/mL), accounting for 78.7% of healthy person,according to Apple F S cTn assay scorecard standard [3], Maglumi hs-cTnI can be definedas “guideline acceptable” on acceptance designation and Level 3 (second
generation, hs) regarding assay designation. While the comparison in 169 hospitalized
patients‘ shows that Maglumi hs-cTnI has a good correlation with Abbott Architect
STAT hs-cTnI, 0.9296 for R2. Take the Troponin related assay performances of othercompany (Table 1) into consideration; it can be conclude that Maglumi hs-cTnI is
comparable with top players in the market.

References:1.

Clinical and Laboratory Standards InstituteEP17-A2: Evaluation of detection
Capability for Clinical Laboratory Measurement Procedures; Approved
Guideline—Second Edition (2012)

2.

Apple F S. A new season for cardiac troponin assays: it‘s time to keep a scorecard[J]. Clinical chemistry, 2009, 55(7): 1303-1306

3.

Apple FS. Parvin C A, Buechler K F, et al. Validation of the 99th percentile cutoff
independent of assay imprecision (CV) for cardiac troponin monitoring for rulingout myocardial infarction[J]. Clinical Chemistry, 2005, 51(11): 2198-2200.

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Roche Efficiency Day (RED) 2016: Voyage
through Quality, Speed and Cost

The inaugural Roche Efficiency Days (RED) was held successfully from December 5 th to
6th in Beijing, China‘s massive capital and city that has history stretching back 3,000 years.
This conference was organized by Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific in collaboration with
Roche Diagnostics China and Asia-Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry andLaboratory Medicine (APFCB). With an impressive participation of around 300 healthcare
professionals from across the region, this conference was not only a unique opportunity togain insights from the speakers from across the globe, but also a wonderful meeting for
networking and exchanging knowledge among participants.
Achieving laboratory‘s efficiency is of great interest to many laboratory managers.
Nevertheless, it is important to ensure that the clinicians have greater confidence in the
result quality while the laboratories are able to work at the greatest level of efficiency with
optimized cost. Hence, with the key focus on testing efficiency excellence, the conference
addressed various topics relevant in helping laboratories achieving balances in quality of
result accuracy, speed of result delivery, cost-effectiveness of laboratory management andoperations.
On 5th December, Mr. Lance Little, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacifickicked off the day by giving his opening remarks and followed by a welcome speechdelivered by Mr. Wong Fatt-Heng, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics China. Seven
highly engaging presentations were given by Dr. Ronda Greaves (Senior Lecturer,
Laboratory Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences RMIT University,
Australia), Ms. Naiyana Wattanasri (Chairman, Thai Medical Council, Thailand), Mr. Mah
Sam Yew (Consulting Team Manager, Lab Workflow Solutions, Roche Diagnostics Asia
Pacific), Prof. Guo Wei (Clinical Lab Director, Fudan University Affiliated Zhongshan
Hospital, China), Dr. Chu Fang Yeh (Chief, Department of Clinical Pathology, Far Eastern
Memorial Hospital, Taiwan), Prof. Hong Jiang (Lab Director, West China Hospital, SCU,
China), Dr. Patricia M. Jones (Director, Chemistry and Metabolic Disease Lab, Children‘s
Medical Center Dallas, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States ofAmerica), to provide up-to-date insights on their respective journeys of continuous andrelentless pursuits into testing efficiency excellence.

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APFCB News 2016 Corporate Corner

The first day session also included two panel discussions with the active participation of theattendees. Ideas, opinions and thoughts were exchanged between speakers andparticipants under the moderation of Dr. Patricia M. Jones and Prof. Boshen Pan, Clinical
Lab Director of Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, China. The day was closed with theheartwarming gala dinner despite the cold winter in Beijing. Roche Diagnostics took theopportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Elecsys with the theme of ―You arewriting history every day, continuous evolution with Elecsys‖. During the dinner, Roche
leadership team – Mr. Lance Little, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, Mr.
Anton Gutscher, Head of Business Development, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, Mr. Wong
Fatt-Heng, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics China, Mr. Jeffrey Chin Head of CPS,
Roche Diagnostics China and Mr. Lim Hong Yew, Business Leader, Lab Workflow
Solutions, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific were invited to stage for the celebration andtoasting to all the guests.

On the second day, there were 4 presentations from the invited speakers from China, they
are Prof. Liping Zhang (Clinical Lab Director, The First Affiliated Hospital of Cong Qing
Medical University), Prof. Prof. Jun Qi (Clinical Lab Director, Cancer Hospital Chinese
Academy of Medical Sciences, China), Prof. Tieying Huo (Clinical Lab Director, Guangdong
General Hospital, China), Prof. Lieying Fan (Clinical Lab Director, Tongji University
Affiliated Oriental Hospital, China). They presented the initiatives that have been
implemented in their laboratories that have brought great improvement in productivity andturnaround time.

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The conference was officially closed by an inspiring speech delivered by Ms. Sophia Chao,
Marketing Director, IVD Professional, and Roche Diagnostics China. This was followed byarrangements to visit the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences andXiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The laboratory visits gave
opportunities for invited participants to learn and understand the workflow of Beijing‘slaboratories.
In conclusion, the conference was an overwhelming success. The results from the survey
showed that the expectations were exceeded by excellent presentations and organization.
We hope this congress has inspired participants to works toward achieving excellence inlaboratory testing efficiency. Finally, on behalf of the Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, I would
like to forward my sincere thanks to APFCB for their kind support and Roche Diagnostics
China for providing their tremendous efforts to the success of the Roche Efficiency Days
(RED) 2016!

Written by SeeSee Kwo, Product Manager, Lab
Business Development, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific.

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Workflow Solutions,63

Regional

79

Dr Tan It Koon
My first overseas study trip covered 3 medical centers best known for their excellence in facilities and training for Clinical Biochemistry
in the United Kingdom. The Department of Clinical Biochemistry was headed by the three prominent ―W‖s: IDP Wootton of the Royal
Postgraduate Medical School in London, TP Whitehead in Birmingham, and LG Whit by in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in Scotland.
In the springtime of 1968, I moved from London to Birmingham, the second destination of my postdoctoral fellowship program, where
I met Professor Whitehead, Head of Clinical Chemistry Department at the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre of the University ofBirmingham. I shared an office at the Wolfson Research Laboratories with Dr Peter Wilding who subsequently moved to the USA andbecame a President of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.
At that time, in addition to being
well-known for his work onlaboratory automation which led tohighly efficient testing for large panelof tests as well as data handling using
on-linecomputers,
Professor
whitehead was a pioneer in internaland external quality assessment oflaboratory analyses which evolved
into the United Kingdom National
External Quality Assessment Service(UK NEQAS), a network ofprograms that now covers many
disciplines
withinlaboratory
medicine. Professor Whitehead wasanenthusiastic
andreadilyapproachable mentor who had aprofound influence on my workwhen I returned to Singapore.

We collaborated in the promotion ofquality assurance through WHO andAPFCB educational programs for theSouth-East Asian Region.
The
efficiency, reliability, and turn-aroundtime of analyses and reporting of test
results to clinical colleagues weregreatly improved by my introductionof automated analysers, use ofcomputer system, and implementationof quality assurance programs in theClinical Biochemistry Laboratories,
Department of Pathology, of theSingapore General Hospital and
Ministry of Health. During my stay in
Birmingham and long-weekend trips
to the countryside organised by the
British Council, an unusually beautiful
and captivating flowering plant caught
my attention.

From a distance, it appeared as long stalks of flower in a variety of colours. They were about a meter tall and usually planted as a groupon open meadows or a patch in private home gardens. They looked lovely swaying in the same direction in the wind. I was told thatthe name of this flowering plant is ―Lupine‖. As I usually saw them unexpectedly while travelling on a bus or car, I could not take acloser look and was curious about the structure of the flower. The opportunity came when Professor Whitehead invited me to hishome at Leamington Spa, a spa town in Warwickshire, England. He and I shared a common passion for flowers and gardening. He wasnationally renowned for cultivating and exhibiting a variety of sweet pea flowers which won him many top floral awards in Britain.
While I enjoyed his garden, I spent more time admiring the large patches of lupines (also belonging to the pea family) in his neighbours‘
gardens. The flowers were seen in the full range of colours of the rainbow, in different shades of the same colour or combinations ofdifferent colours. Each stalk of flower consisted of multiple small blossoms attached by short pedicelsin vertical rows along an elongatedaxis and each leaf had five or more leaflets radiating outward from a single point on the stalk.
As my accommodation in Birmingham was a short walking distance from the city‘s Botanic Garden, I was able to make this colour
sketch of the lupine flower in the style of a botanic painting at my leisure in the garden. This has served as a souvenir for my time in
Birmingham and long-lasting memory of a pea-flower loving professor who had made outstanding contributions to the practice ofClinical Chemistry worldwide.