Sometimes illustration is needed for a less scientific, but still instructive, purpose. Biomedical products that utilize bodily fluids or certain laboratory ingredients have to be packaged and shipped in very specific ways. The integrity of the acquired samples must be assured during transport from home to lab, or from lab to processing center.

This first piece describes how to process and ship patient blood samples for the Vectra DA test. The instructions cover everything from the temperature of the polar packs in the shipping to how to properly centrifuge the sample. Even how fast to get this to FedEx is covered.

The Veracyte test encountered problems due to the mispackaging of samples during shipping. These illustrations were created to explain the exact placement of the test samples and cold packs to ensure successful transportation of the test samples.