Washington, DC -- June 2, 2010 The American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s publishing arm, AACC Press, announces the publication of its first book in Spanish: Basic QC Practices: Training in Statistical Quality Control for Medical Laboratories, 3rd Edition by Dr. James Westgard. The book will also be published in English by Westgard QC. A world-wide authority on QC, Dr. Westgard is the co-founder and principal in Westgard QC, which provides training, technology and tools for laboratory quality management. He is also an Emeritus Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. His research focused on performance validation of laboratory methods and most recently on statistical quality control. Dr. Westgard is the author of nearly 200 publications, including eight books on laboratory quality management and has received numerous awards, including several from AACC.
This seminal QC work updates key issues in quality and includes added chapters on Equivalent QC, EQC Evaluation Protocols, and Risk Assessment; new analytics of QC for molecular diagnostics, virology, genetics, and cancer markers; and updated coverage of CLIA, CAP and Joint Commission requirements. The Spanish translation differs slightly from the English edition to reflect the differences in practice and regulation between the United States and Latin America. AACC will distribute copies of the book in Latin America and it will be available on its website in late July.
This translation was made possible by a gift to AACC from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation to support educational projects in emerging countries. Wallace H. Coulter was an innovator, entrepreneur and founder of the Coulter Corporation. He revolutionized the practice of hematology and laboratory medicine and pioneered the fields of flow cytometry and monoclonal antibodies. The Coulter Principle, or electronic sensing zone, was the first of his 82 patents. Its initial application, the Coulter Counter, provided the first high-throughput, standardized method to count and size cells and particles as they flow through an aperture. It led to major breakthroughs in science, medicine and industry.
For more information about AACC or AACC Press, contact Peter Patterson on either of the above phone numbers or at ppatterson@aacc.org.