The FDA has cleared the Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics re-standardized ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total assay1, which has also recently become a certified procedure of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Vitamin D Standardization Certification Program (VDSCP)2. The Siemens assay, which the company voluntarily re-standardized to align with a reference measurement procedure used in the Vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP) for vitamin D measurement3, is the first such assay to receive FDA clearance. The re-standardized assay enhances accuracy and reliability in vitamin D testing and enables clinicians to generate reproducible and comparable results.
The recent increased demand for vitamin D testing has led to more commercially available vitamin D assays. However, without a universal vitamin D standard, different assays and testing methods produced varying results. In an effort to standardize the laboratory measurement of vitamin D status measurement worldwide, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements (NIH ODS) introduced the VDSP in 2010.
The re-standardized ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total assay is also now available with pediatric observed values for ages 12 months to up to 21 years old. Studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency in children is widespread, and can lead to such issues as skeletal deformities, brittle bones, frequent fractures and even premature osteoporosis later in life4.
Contact for journalists:
Susan Drew
Siemens Healthcare, Media Relations
Phone: +1 914-524-2844; E-mail: susan.drew@siemens.com
For further information on the ADVIA Centaur Vitamin D Total assay, please visit: www.siemens.com/vitamindtotal
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The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 52,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2013 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 13.6 billion euros and profit of 2.0 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.
