"To Infinity, and Beyond!"
This NASA shuttle is the first crewed flight to orbit the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
What is Artemis II?
This test is primarily used to screen for cervical cancer and its precursors caused by persistent high-risk HPV infection.
What is the Papanicolaou (PAP/Cytological GYN) test?
This critical first step in specimen collection requires using at least two unique identifiers to ensure the sample is matched to the correct patient.
What is proper patient identification?
Buzz Lightyear would remind us these cells have the ability to become many different cell types.
What are stem cells?
Missing, irregular, or undocumented logs for these which ensure our equipment and reagents are in optimal conditions.
What are temperature checks (refrigerators, freezers, humidity, etc)?
Similar to pre-launch system checks by NASA, this laboratory process ensures instruments are functioning correctly before patient testing begins.
What is instrument calibration and daily quality control?
Matching these markers between donor and recipient is essential to reduce the risk of graft rejection in organ and stem cell transplantation.
What is Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)?
This process ensures that controlled conditions—such as temperature, humidity, and air quality—are routinely measured and documented to maintain specimen integrity and test accuracy in the laboratory.
What is environmental monitoring?
Woody was sad to learn that red blood cells from donors with this blood type can be only transfused the patients with this same blood type.
What is AB Positive?
This occurs when expired reagents are used or when lot-to-lot verification is not performed or documented.
What is a reagent management/log deficiency?
NASA employs strict technical standards for environmental verification and flightworthiness. CAP categorizes their standards into these, which drive the peer-reviewed audits.
What are technical checklists?
This molecular cytogenetic technique uses fluorescent probes to detect and localize specific DNA sequences on chromosomes.
What is Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH)?
This system ensures consistent laboratory quality through policies, processes, and procedures in the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical phases that meet regulatory and accreditation requirements.
What is a Clinical Laboratory Quality system?
Blood donors who had xenotransplant performed by Sid Phillips would be deferred for this period.
What is indefinite?
Failure to properly evaluate these results which confirm our accuracy and instrument/test performance in comparison to our peers.
What are PT and Alternative Assessment results?
NASA is a high-reliability organization, which is the direction MSKCC is moving towards. Following failures such as the Challenger and Columbia disasters, NASA used this key principle to ensure employees were comfortable raising concerns without fear.
What is a culture of safety and learning?
This use of immunophenotyping helps classify leukemias and lymphomas by determining lineage and stage of differentiation.
What is Immunophenotyping?
Failure to routinely monitor for bacteria counts and document this can compromise reagent performance and instrument accuracy.
What is laboratory water quality testing?
Woody knows loyalty, just like these immune cells that are modified in CAR‑T therapy.
What are T cells?
Similar to Maintenance/Function Checks this is also related to instruments and equipment but specifically refers to this aspect of the documentation records.
What is instrument/equipment record review?
Similar to how NASA investigates anomalies after a mission event, this structured process identifies the underlying cause of laboratory errors.
What is root cause analysis (RCA) / apparent cause analysis ACA?
This RNA-based next-generation sequencing assay uses a whole transcriptome sequencing approach to detect the presence of gene fusions in 51 genes of interest.
MSK-REACT
Total testing volumes, TAT, Specimen Cancellations, Corrected Results, Proficiency Testing, Nonconformities and Complaints.
What are Laboratory Quality Indicators?
Rare red blood cells frozen in 40% glycerol at -65 C or colder are NOT stored for Infinity and Beyond but generally up to this period.
What is 10 years?
Failure to document studies that demonstrate patient samples tested using different methods/instruments yield similar results. These studies are commonly referred to as this.
What are correlation studies, or comparability of instruments and methods?