In the GCAL® Customer Stories, we present how some of our valuable customers incorporate our plasma and serum calprotectin assay in both clinical and laboratory settings to improve diagnostic efficiency.
Rapid and reliable assessment of inflammation is essential in both acute and chronic care. As clinical demands increase and laboratory workflows become more streamlined, hospitals are looking for solutions that combine speed, automation and broad clinical applicability. Circulating calprotectin has emerged as a valuable biomarker in this landscape, supporting differential diagnosis and providing additional insight beyond traditional markers.
In this GCAL® Customer Story, we feature how Motol University Hospital in Prague has implemented Gentian’s GCAL® Calprotectin Immunoassay to enable fully automated, 24/7 calprotectin testing across departments.
By integrating calprotectin into routine chemistry workflows, the hospital has expanded access to this important biomarker in both adult and paediatric care, strengthening clinical decision-making from the emergency department to specialised outpatient clinics.
Motol University Hospital is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, with more than 2,400 beds and close to 900,000 patients treated each year. As a major teaching hospital of Charles University and a key academic and research centre, Motol serves both adult and paediatric patients across a wide range of medical specialties.
Motol University Hospital, Prague. Image courtesy of Motol University Hospital
Implementing GCAL® on the AU680 chemistry analyser (Beckman Coulter) enables calprotectin to be batched together with other routine acute markers and delivered as a STAT test 24/7 for all departments.
This integration allows clinicians to receive calprotectin results alongside standard biomarkers from a single sample, which is particularly important in paediatric care where sample volume must be minimised. The chemistry platform can be easily adapted to smaller volumes, supporting both adult and paediatric testing.
The hospital reports that the implementation process was smooth, with good analytical performance. Correlation testing between turbidimetric and chemiluminescence methods also showed a strong linear relationship, supporting confidence in the transition.
“We are very happy with the set-up and performance of the GCAL® assay. We are now offering calprotectin 24/7 to all hospital departments as STAT test.”
Assoc. prof. Tomáš Milota, Ph.D.
Head of Immunology Department, Motol University Hospital, Prague
Calprotectin testing at Motol University Hospital is requested by multiple departments (adult and paediatric), including:
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“Calprotectin is a very important complementary biomarker, aiding in differential diagnosis and direct measurement of disease activity. Being able to measure calprotectin together with other routine markers on a fully automated chemistry analyser allows us to use it in real clinical practice, both in acute and chronic settings. This is particularly valuable in paediatrics, where sample volume is limited and fast, objective results are crucial for clinical decisions.”
Assoc. prof. Tomáš Milota, Ph.D.
Head of Immunology Department, Motol University Hospital, Prague
In rheumatology, circulating calprotectin is used as a complementary biomarker to C-reactive protein (CRP), particularly in patients where CRP does not reliably reflect disease activity. This includes seronegative rheumatoid arthritis patients and patients receiving biological treatments such as anti-IL-6 therapies, where CRP may remain suppressed despite ongoing inflammation. Calprotectin provides a more direct and sensitive readout of immune cell activation and residual inflammatory activity.
In internal medicine and emergency care, circulating calprotectin is part of a broader inflammatory panel combining IL-6, CRP, procalcitonin and calprotectin. This combination supports early differential diagnosis, assessment of disease severity and clinical decision-making at first patient contact, including decisions on hospital admission or antibiotic treatment. In paediatric and neonatal care, calprotectin helps bridge diagnostic gaps in early infection stages where traditional markers may still be inconclusive.
Gentian GCAL® Calprotectin Immunoassay is the first turbidimetric assay for the quantitative determination of calprotectin in plasma and serum intended as an aid in the detection and assessment of inflammation and inflammatory response to infections. The assay can be applied on a wide range of automated clinical chemistry analysers.
As the first turbidimetric assay available since 2019, GCAL® offers distinct advantages:
Advanced technology: PETIA assay on clinical chemistry platforms using avian antibodies, which minimises interference from rheumatoid factor and HAMA antibodies* GCAL® is CE-marked under the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR 2017/746, CE 0123). It is not cleared by the U.S. FDA and is not available for sale in the United States.
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