Fischer ANalysen Instrumente GmbH

^13/12CO₂ breath test instrument FANci2

The FANci2 is a highly sensitive analysis instrument for the determination of the ratio of the stable isotope ¹³C and ¹²C in the CO₂ of respiratory gases.

The field of application for the device are all diagnosis techniques in which tracer substances marked with the ¹³C stable isotope are catabolised and finally expelled through respiration.

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Fields of application

Medicine

• diagnostic studies for Helicobacter-gastritis [scheme]
• investigation of aminoacid metabolism
• monitoring the circulation of bile acid
• detection of fat malabsorption
• indication of bacterial overgrowth in the jejunum
• specific liver function tests
• measurement of gastric emptying rate of solids
• determination of the lactase activity with ¹³C labelled cornstarch
• test of the pancreas function with the lipase enzyme

Animal nutrition and biochemistry

• utilisation of feedstuff
• dynamics of metabolism

Special features

• simple and save handling
• small sample volume (approx. 100ml)
• high performance (approx. 30 samples/h)
• high repeatability (standard deviation < 0.5‰)
• low servicing by internal checks of system status
• wide field of application by flexible adaptation to special questions

Operating principle

The principle of measurement is based upon the specific absorption of infrared light in the middle of the infrared spectrum between 2 and 8µm wave length (NDIR: Non Dispersive Infrared Spectroscopy). The high selectivity of the infrared detectors is obtained by filling themselves with the corresponding components, ¹³CO₂ and ¹²CO₂ respectively.
The cross sensitivity of ¹³CO₂ to the high ¹²CO₂ concentrations is reduced by using a ¹²CO₂ gas filter in the ¹³CO₂ channel and mathematical hods.
To yield the high accuracy the temperature is stabilised by thermostat and the system is closed to the environment.

Software

The control of the FANci2 is realised by the FANci-C WINDOWS^®-Software that guarantees an easy handling of the analyser system and a clearly arranged representation of the results of measurements. So the user is informed about the progress of the measurements at any time.
All controls needed for the routine procedures of the FANci2, as recording of sample data, start of measurement, evaluation and documentation of the results are easy available.
All relevant system parameters are observed continuously and any disturbances in the process reported immediately. By selecting only a few system parameters, the FANci2 is adaptable to different questions.
Via standard data interfaces like GDT, HL7 or ASTM the software can be connected to practise or hospital EDP systems easily.

System configuration

The FANci2 only consists of one unit that includes the acquisition unit and the gas management system. The gas sample-ports for the breath bags are located in front of the device.
There are only two connections necessary: the power supply and the connection to the Personal Computer. The software communicate with the components of the device via USB or a PC-card.

• Simple and secure handling by
  • in the hardware integrated sample recognition system
  • compact design and neat layout of controls
• internal control with fail-save CAN bus
• heated gas path to eliminate residual moisture
• low stoppage times and service costs by internal status checks for early failure diagnosis
• Optical system with
  • integrated thermostat, optimised for the measuring process
  • new efficient IR-sources
  • modified light modulation, optimised to the signal processing
    and, due to this
  • markedly smoother output signal with lower drift
  • insensitive to nuisance gases by higher selectivity