Interpreting Your Results
General Statistics
The General Statistics panel provides a top-level summary of the study:
| Statistic | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Overall Mean (Error Index by Instrument) | The mean Error Index across all non-target instrument measurements. A value near 0 indicates that the fleet as a whole is well-centered around the target. A non-zero mean suggests a systematic directional bias across instruments. |
| Target Range | The minimum and maximum target values observed across all specimens in the study. Reflects the concentration range over which inter-instrument agreement was evaluated. |
| Coverage Ratio | The percentage of the reportable range (AMR) spanned by the study's target values. Higher coverage indicates that inter-instrument agreement was assessed across a broader portion of the clinically relevant concentration range. |
| Instruments | The total number of instruments included in the study. |
| Samples | The total number of unique specimens tested. |
| Number of Data Points Outside of Allowable Error | The count of individual measurements where |Error Index| > 1.0 (FAIL), expressed as a fraction of total non-target measurements. For example, 0/6 means all 6 measurements from non-target instruments fell within allowable error. |
Result Summary by Instrument
The Result Summary table lists every measurement from every non-target instrument, with the following columns:
| Column | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Instrument | The instrument name and serial number identifying which analyzer produced this measurement. |
| Sample ID | The specimen identifier for this row. |
| Result | The raw measured value from this instrument for this specimen. |
| Target | The reference value for this specimen — either the median of designated target instruments or the median of all instruments if no target is designated. |
| Observed Error | Result minus Target. Positive values indicate the instrument reads higher than the target; negative values indicate lower. |
| TEa | The allowable error window at this specimen's concentration, expressed as ± an absolute value. Derived from the analyte's configured TEa and bias allocation percentage. |
| Error Index | Observed Error divided by TEa. |Error Index| ≤ 1.0 = PASS; |Error Index| > 1.0 = FAIL. Displayed as '–' for target instruments. |
| Status | PASS (green) if |Error Index| ≤ 1.0; FAIL (red) if |Error Index| > 1.0. Shown as '–' for target instruments, which are not evaluated. |
Error Index by Instrument
This dot plot displays every individual Error Index value, with instruments arranged along the Y-axis and the Error Index on the X-axis (−1.5 to +1.5). Each dot represents one measurement. Pink shaded regions beyond ±1.0 mark the unacceptable error zone.
- Dots clustered near zero — Instrument results closely match the target across specimens. Good inter-instrument agreement.
- Dots consistently offset in one direction — The instrument has a systematic positive or negative bias relative to the target. The direction and magnitude suggest a calibration or reagent issue specific to that instrument.
- Dots in the pink zone (|Error Index| > 1.0) — One or more measurements exceed allowable error. Review the Result Summary table to identify which specimens are affected and investigate root causes.
- Sample ID Finder — When enabled, hovering over any data point highlights all points from the same specimen across all instruments in green. This makes it easy to determine whether a problematic result is isolated to one instrument or reflects a specimen-level issue (e.g., sample integrity).
Scatter Plot (All Instruments)
The scatter plot displays each instrument's measured value (Y-axis) against the corresponding target value (X-axis). It overlays:
- Data points — One point per measurement per instrument, color-coded by instrument.
- Perfect Agreement Line (Y = X) — Represents exact agreement between each instrument and the target. Points on this line indicate zero bias.
- TEa bounds — Parallel lines above and below the perfect agreement line representing the allowable error window. Points outside these bounds correspond to Error Index magnitudes > 1.0.
- AMR limits — Vertical markers indicating the lower and upper bounds of the configured reportable range.
- Instrument Finder — When enabled, hovering over a data point highlights all points from the same instrument in green, making it easier to identify instrument-specific patterns or systematic offsets.
Error Index by Concentration (All Instruments)
This scatter plot shows the Error Index (Y-axis) for each measurement against the corresponding target concentration (X-axis). It includes:
- Data points — Each point represents one measurement. Points in pink zones (|Error Index| > 1.0) exceed allowable error.
- Zero line — The horizontal reference line at Error Index = 0, representing perfect agreement with the target.
- AMR limits — Vertical markers at the reportable range boundaries. Points outside the AMR limits are flagged as out-of-range.
- Horizontal scatter pattern — A random, flat scatter around zero across concentrations indicates good precision and no concentration-dependent bias.
- Systematic patterns — A fan-shaped spread (errors increasing with concentration) or a curved trend may indicate proportional bias or a non-linear relationship between the instrument and the target. Investigate calibration and reagent lot consistency.
- Instrument Finder — When enabled, hovering over a data point highlights all points from the same instrument in green to reveal instrument-specific concentration-dependent patterns.
All three figures support zoom for closer inspection of dense data regions.