New Study Validates the Accuracy of Handheld Raman

Over the past few years, as handheld Raman spectrometers have become mainstream technology, there has been a lot of debate over the accuracy of handheld Raman instrumentation as compared to larger laboratory systems.  Handheld Raman has several advantages over laboratory instrumentation, particularly speed, portability, ease-of-use, and cost of ownership.  But, many critics of the technology have claimed that the reduction in signal-to-noise ratio and broader spectral features as compared to laboratory instrumentation reduce the accuracy of the technique.

Dr. Sulaf Assi, a postdoc at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, set out to test this hypothesis for the identification of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.  To do this, she obtained over 200 tablets of different pharmaceuticals from various places around the world and performed a detailed analysis of each sample on both a laboratory and a handheld Raman spectrometer.  Based on the results of this study, Dr. Assi was able to show that even though the spectral quality of the handheld unit was not as good as the laboratory instrument, “these drawbacks did not affect the accuracy of identification and quantification of medicines.”

This study was recently published in Volume 15 Issue 5 of American Pharmaceutical Review under the title “Laboratory vs. Handheld Instruments: What You Gain and What You Lose”.  Click here to read the full article: http://www.americanpharmaceuticalreview.com/Featured-Articles/119442-Laboratory-Versus-Handheld-Instruments-What-You-Gain-and-What-You-Lose/

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