About

Medical data interoperability is critical when interpreting laboratory results from different healthcare systems or regions. This tool serves as a translation layer between US Standard units (typically mass/volume, e.g., mg/dL) and International System (SI) units (typically molarity, e.g., mmol/L or µmol/L).

Accurate conversion relies on the molecular weight of the specific substance. A generic calculator cannot be used; for example, the conversion factor for Glucose differs entirely from that of Cholesterol. This utility applies substance-specific logic to ensure physicians and patients can safely compare records across borders or institutions.

Formulas

To convert from Mass Units (US) to Molar Units (SI), the formula utilizes the molar mass (M) of the substance.

US to SI:

Value_SI = Value_US × Factor

SI to US:

Value_US = Value_SIFactor

Where the Factor is derived from 10 ÷ M (depending on unit scaling).

Reference Data

Substance	US Unit	SI Unit	Conversion Factor (to SI)
Glucose	mg/dL	mmol/L	× 0.0555
Cholesterol	mg/dL	mmol/L	× 0.0259
Creatinine	mg/dL	µmol/L	× 88.4
Bilirubin	mg/dL	µmol/L	× 17.1
Urea Nitrogen (BUN)	mg/dL	mmol/L	× 0.357
Calcium	mg/dL	mmol/L	× 0.25
Triglycerides	mg/dL	mmol/L	× 0.0113
Uric Acid	mg/dL	µmol/L	× 59.48

Frequently Asked Questions

The United States typically adheres to conventional units (mg/dL) rooted in mass per volume. Most other countries, and scientific journals, use the International System (SI) of units (mmol/L), which measures the number of molecules per volume. The SI system is generally preferred in research for stoichiometric calculations.

No. The conversion depends entirely on the molecular weight of the substance. For instance, a glucose molecule is much lighter than a cholesterol molecule. Using the glucose factor (0.0555) on a cholesterol reading would result in a dangerous error.

These are scales of magnitude. mmol/L is "millimoles per liter" (10^-3), used for substances in higher concentrations like Glucose. µmol/L is "micromoles per liter" (10^-6), used for substances in trace amounts like Creatinine or Bilirubin.

HbA1c is unique. It is often converted between percentage (%) and IFCC units (mmol/mol). The relationship is linear but uses a different formula: (HbA1c % - 2.15) * 10.929 = HbA1c mmol/mol. This tool focuses on blood chemistry concentration.