Cholesterol / Glucose Analyzer Rental

hakelly

Hi just wondering does anyone know if it is possible to rent a cholesterol/glucose analyzer anywhere in Ireland rather than buying one? Looking into providing this service as part of my pre-registration training project but not sure rushing to buying one is the best option. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Dingle_berry

Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer(s) and ask them directly. If you agree to only use their consumables or some such they may loan you the analyser/instrument. Or they may have ex-demo models for cheap(er).

I would also say research your choices. Compare published literature on sensitivity, specificity, correlations, etc. adhere stringently to operating and maintenance instructions (if it says one drop don't add an extra half drop "for good measure"). There are guidelines published by interested parties in Point of Care Testing.

hakelly

Thank you very much for replying Dingle_berry. The cost really does seem to be in the test strips, reagents etc. I was hoping if even another pharmacy might be willing to rent theirs out for a day or two as I am pushed for time with this project deadline. Buying a machine in a hurry seems like a silly thing to do particularly when its hard to say if the service would be feasible going forward. There are so many different products too it is difficult to know even which one would be the best value for money. I really just need a machine that is suitable for testing the total cholesterol and glucose of a handfull of patients but a lot of the machines seem to be more for personal home use. I'l have to keep looking!
Thanks again!

Dingle_berry

What is the project on? Where are you recruiting patients from?
If they are patients with conditions requiring monitoring you could request the data from their hospital charts (with their permission etc) Or would somewhere with the equipment give you access to it for the price of the consumables?

hakelly

its a project on cardiovascular risk screening. unfortunately the service is based around testing patients cholesterol and glucose levels so results alone wont work. i might try as you say and see if anywhere would lend the equipment if I get the strips etc! thanks again!

echo beach

You have already made an important finding. The capital costs of providing a service for small numbers make it uneconomic.
For a project you might be able to get a loan or short rent from one of the companies.