Welcome to CALIPER

The Canadian Laboratory Initiative on Pediatric Reference Intervals (CALIPER) is a nation-wide health initiative to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of children and adolescents with medical concerns. Our main objective is to establish a comprehensive database of reference intervals for blood test results in children and adolescents. CALIPER is designed to fill the gaps that currently exist in accurately interpreting blood test results with the ultimate goal of improving the care of children at SickKids and other children’s hospitals around the world. Since 2009, we have made great progress, including:

  • Recruited 14,000+ healthy children and adolescents from schools and other community centres

  • Established paediatric reference intervals for 200+ laboratory biomarkers of health and disease

  • Published 85+ peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals to share methods and data worldwide

  • Created an online database and mobile application for free access to CALIPER reference intervals

CALIPER would not be possible without the collaboration of community partnerships as well as our participants, volunteers, and staff. Thank you!

We accept applications for volunteers and ambassadors.

CALIPER Database

We’ve established a comprehensive database of age- and sex-specific reference intervals for over 200 tests of health and disease, including biochemical, immunological, hematological, nutritional, endocrine, and fertility markers, as well as many special chemistry evaluations, based on data from thousands of healthy children and teens from birth to 18 years old. This database is free for use by all healthcare professionals, laboratory professionals, as well as families and children.

CALIPER Program

The CALIPER program’s main aim is to establish a comprehensive database of reference intervals for blood test results in children and adolescents. While CALIPER has made significant progress towards increasing the availability of paediatric reference intervals for key blood tests, evidence gaps continue to exist for special markers and new laboratory instruments. To address these gaps, our team has recently completed or is currently undertaking studies to establish paediatric reference intervals for the following biomarkers:

  • Chemistry and immunological markers on new analytical systems (Abbott Alinity, Siemens Attelica)

  • Hematological markers on multiple platforms (Sysmex, Beckman, Mindray)

  • Critical care markers on point of care testing platforms

  • Markers of inflammatory disease (cytokines, calprotectin, autoimmune)

  • Markers of nutritional deficiency (essential trace elements)

  • Markers of environmental toxicity (heavy metals)

CALIPER has also embarked on specific sub-studies regarding maternal, child, adolescent, and adult health, including:

Pregnancy & Infancy

The Mother & Child Health Initiative aims to establish a comprehensive database of healthy reference intervals for blood tests in pregnant women.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 Seroprevalence Study aims to monitor antibody levels after COVID-19 vaccination in children and adults.

Early Childhood

The CALIPER Early Childhood Study aims to develop more accurate reference intervals for young children who are 0-5 years of age.

Obesity & Metabolism

The Lipid Metabolism in Adolescents Study aims to examine lipid metabolism biomarkers in adolescents with insulin resistance and obesity.

Our Sponsors

Canadian Institutes of Health Research website
SickKids Foundation website
March of Dimes website
March of Dimes website
Abbott Diagnostics
Beckman Coulter
DiaSorin
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
Roche
Siemens
Siemens
Siemens
CIHR Logo
March of Dimes Logo
Abbott Logo
Beckman Logo
DiaSorin Logo
Ortho Logo
Roche Logo
Siemens Logo