For almost 20 years, the medical industry has been employing test strips to indicate the presence or levels of various substances in medical equipment, devices and even liquid. Water test strips are on example of a variation on a common theme. Test strips are popular and in use in a variety of situations, because they provide a variety of advantages other methods do not.
Why Test Strips are Popular
Test strips are a popular means of providing test results. They will continue to do so, even in a field situation. Medical test strips are widespread for several reasons. They are:
- Convenient: Test strips come in packages ready to use. They can be accessed quickly and easily to test the quality of fluids, the hardness level of water and the presence of microbes or other organisms.
- Ease of Use: For years, students at the elementary level have been using test strips in science fair projects to test the quality of water. If students can handle them without difficulty, it should pose no problem for medical professionals to utilize these strips.
- Easy to Understand: The indicators for reagent test strips of a specific concentration or presence of a substance are usually based on a colorimetric reaction. In other words, at its most simplest, the test strip will alter its color in the presence of a specific substance. Different shades will indicate the amount of the substance in the tested sample
- Accuracy: Test strips are accurate. They are reliable and dependable. Whether water test strips or one designed to handle urine or blood, test strips are widespread in the medical industry. In fact, technicians and studies indicate this type of test is as precise as any tablet or liquid test is.
- Fast Results: While some methods may take hours or days, this is not the case with test strips. You can often obtain the results within seconds.
- Disposable: Following a test for such things as water hardness, the technician can simply discard the strips in a trashcan.
With such characteristics as ease-of-use, convenience and accuracy, it is increasingly common to see strips becoming a prominent part of various medical testing kits and practices.
Water Test Strips
Medical test strips find their applications in diverse areas. They are used in diabetic testing of blood sugar levels. They also are prominent in testing the hardness level of water. This is critical when it comes to ensuring the pre-softening of the water in dialysis so necessary before employing reverse osmosis (RO). Yet, no matter what the use, including as water test strips, no one disputes that using strips is a fast, accurate and easy way to discover the presence or levels of a specific substance.
