2019 Volume 68 Issue 3 Pages 540-544
The indirect immunofluorescence assay is the gold standard for the screening of antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). However, the procedure of the conventional indirect immunofluorescence assay of ANAs (FANA) is complicated, and the visual interpretation of results requires a highly skilled clinical technologist or laboratory staff. Thus, we performed a basic evaluation of ANA detection using a system for computer-aided immunofluorescence microscopy (EUROPattern Cosmic FANA System, EPA) and an automatic preprocessing device. The antibody titers of within-run and between-day precisions determined by the visual microscopic evaluation of the EPA images were within the range of +/−1 titer step. The ANA titers of healthy individuals obtained using the EPA system and the conventional method by manual operation showed no large differences. The EPA system and the conventional method showed a concordance rate of the antibody titer (within +/−1 titer step) of as high as 97.0%. The positive concordance rates of the ANA patterns, namely, homogeneous, speckled, nucleolar, and centromeric, between the EPA system and the conventional method were 79%, 84%, 88% and 88%, respectively. The EPA system should not be considered as a fully automated system for ANA evaluation. However, it is useful for routine ANA analysis.
