PubMed1988
The Quantitative Selected Ion Monitoring Processing System (QSIMPS) is a collection of software and hardware which was designed with the capacity to analyze 30,600 samples per year in support of pharmacokinetic studies. On a per sample basis, QSIMPS was designed to inject a sample into the GC, control the GC divert valve, collect selected ion monitoring data, identify the peaks for the drug and one metabolite and each compound's reference standard, fit the peaks to a relevant chromatographic model, calculate chromatographic features of merit, calculate the peak heights and ratio of the drug and its reference standard and the metabolite and its reference standard, and, using calibration data, convert the ratio to an amount of drug. On a per tray (batch) basis, QSIMPS was designed to fit all the peak height ratios from the calibration standards to either a linear equation, or a generalized nonlinear isotope dilution equation, report a statistical analysis of the fit, and, using aliquot factors, convert the measured amount of drug into concentrations. On a per project basis, QSIMPS prints reports summarizing statistical data on the calibration standards and the quality assurance samples, and prints reports presenting the concentration data as a function of, for examples, subject, drug treatment, time postdose, etc., along with other ancillary data such as subject sex, weight, species, etc. In addition, QSIMPS can fit the concentration data to a number of common pharmacokinetic model-derived equations, and report the resulting pharmacokinetic parameters along with a statistical comparison of the parameters.