3.1 specimen collection and sample handing
The (qCCP) process starts with specimen collection, e.g., blood, urine, salive or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), from patients who visit the hospital (Fig. 1) In this respect, the hospital infrastructure and the specimen collection facilities should be "state-of-the-art" with positive sample identification, standardized protocols and employment of a track-and-trace system for all materials from specimen collection unit storage. Whereas specimen is defined as a sample, as of serum or plasma, urine, or CSF or another body fluid, used for analysis and diagnosis, we will here focus particularly on the use if blood-derived samples for qCCP applications.