Thyroid stimulating hormone (also known as thyrotropin, thyrotropic hormone, TSH, or hTSH for human TSH) is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine (T4), and then triiodothyronine (T3) which stimulates the metabolism of almost every tissue in the body. It is a glycoprotein hormone synthesized and secreted by thyrotrope cells in the anterior pituitary gland, which regulates the endocrine function of the thyroid. TSH (with a half-life of about an hour) stimulates the thyroid gland to secrete the hormone thyroxine (T4), which has only a slight effect on metabolism. T4 is converted to triiodothyronine (T3), which is the active hormone that stimulates metabolism. About 80% of this conversion is in the liver and other organs, and 20% in the thyroid itself.

 

 

【PROCEDURE】
· 1. Wash your hands with soap and rinse with clear warm water.
· 2. Bring the pouch to room temperature before opening it. Open the foil pouch and get out the cassette.
· 3. Carefully pull off and dispose the released cap of the lancet.
· 4. Use the provided alcohol pad to clean the fingertip of the middle finger as the puncture site.
· 5. Press the lancet, on the side from where the cap was extracted; against the fingertip (Side of ring finger is advised). The tip retracts automatically and safely after use.
· 6. Keeping the hand down massage the end that was pricked to obtain a blood drop.
· 7. Without squeezing the capillary dropper bulb, put it in contact with the blood. The blood migrates into the capillary dropper to the line indicated on the capillary dropper. You may massage again your finger to obtain more blood if the line is not reached. Avoid air bubbles.
· 8. Put the blood collected into the sample well of the cassette, by squeezing on the dropper bulb.
· 9. Wait for the blood to be totally dispensed in the well. Unscrew the cap of the buffer bottle and add 2 drops of buffer into the sample well of the cassette.
· 10. Wait for the colored line(s) to appear. Read results at 10 minutes. Do not interpret the result after 20 minutes.