Eureka software helps manage medicine test anomalies

European Union research network Eureka has developed a software "uncertainty manager", which can help pharmaceutical manufacturers manage unpredictable results when testing products for additive concentration, contaminant residues and other microscopic concerns.

Because of many variables, from human error to prevailing weather, results can vary, even for the same test on a single medicine. The software therefore allows users to input measurement equations, manufacturers and types of measurement tools, sample preparation conditions, types of calibration, environmental conditions and the standardisation of test methods. The software then analyses factors potentially responsible for uncertainties, helping pharmaceutical companies interpret test anomalies.

According to a Eureka note: "Knowledge of the uncertainty provides a quantitative indication of the quality of a result. It shows how well the result represents the value being measured.."