Prof. Julius Fobil, Principal Investigator for GEOHealth West Africa, in collaboration with Prof. Kiyoshi Ichihara and MedLab Ghana Ltd., has successfully completed the Ghanaian component of a global multicenter reference interval study.
Led by Prof. Ichihara, a renowned expert in laboratory medicine and biostatistics from Yamaguchi University, Japan, the study spans twenty (20) countries, including five in Africa—Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. Its goal is to establish harmonized clinical reference intervals to strengthen diagnostic accuracy worldwide.
In Ghana, the project was coordinated by Mrs. Serwaa Akoto Bawua, a PhD student at the University of Ghana. It generated reference intervals for more than eighty (80) analytes across haematology, biochemistry, immunoglobulins, hormones, and tumor markers.
During his recent visit to Ghana, Prof. Ichihara delivered a presentation at the University of Ghana highlighting the methodologies used, including the latent abnormal values exclusion (LAVE) technique. This approach ensures stronger validity by filtering out participants with latent health conditions.
A reception in his honor, hosted by MedLab Ghana Ltd. and the University of Ghana at Azmera Restaurant, brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, and the University of Ghana. Preliminary results presented showed marked differences from manufacturers’ standards. Adoption of Ghana-specific reference intervals is expected to improve diagnosis, patient management, and clinical trial recruitment in the country.