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 90+ 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.

Visit the CALIPER Database

Updated with new reference range data on April 15, 2024

Please check your app store for updates to access our most up-to-date information

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