Beckman Coulter Introduces New Total Laboratory Automation Solution

Beckman Coulter’s (Brea, CA, USA) latest addition to its automation portfolio, the DxA 5000 total laboratory automation solution has achieved European CE Mark and China Food and Drug Administration approval. The first in a suite of DxA systems currently in development, the DxA 5000 enhances Beckman Coulter's comprehensive portfolio of scalable solutions and is a key component of its vision to bring workflow automation to laboratories of all sizes.

The DxA 5000 helps laboratories meet the challenges of driving faster turnaround time, delivering quality results and improving laboratory operations through a collection of patented innovations that deliver rapid and consistent turnaround time, provide a new level of comprehensive pre-analytical sample quality detection, and reduce the number of manual processing steps to significantly improve laboratory efficiency.

The new solution utilizes a universal centrifugation protocol that significantly reduces the pre-analytical processing time by up to 73% for connected analyzers across multiple disciplines. Additionally, it supports laboratories in delivering highly consistent turnaround time to their physicians. The DxA 5000 utilizes Intelligent Routing dynamic system software to bring automated patient-centric workflow to the laboratory. By understanding the tests requested, sample volume available and real-time analyzer capacity and status, it continuously calculates the most expeditious route for every patient sample—both STAT and routine.

The DxA 5000 is designed with a sharp focus on sample quality assessment, screening each sample at multiple points to help laboratories substantially reduce the risk of errors. In three seconds, the system detects patient tube parameters such as volume, sample identification, tube type, cap color, orders pending and tube weight. The system is also designed to check for sample volume at three separate points: pre-centrifugation, post-centrifugation and prior to sample storage to continually ensure sufficient volume is available for the tests ordered. Together, these quality assessments reduce the potential for release of erroneous results and can help accelerate time to result by quickly alerting the laboratory when a new patient sample is needed.

The automated system simultaneously manages high volumes of multiple discipline requests, with a large variety of patient sample tubes and sizes, without impact to overall system throughput or STAT turnaround time. By automating sample processing steps, it supports laboratories in delivering a higher number of results per hour with the same staffing level.

"The DxA 5000 is a breakthrough solution in total laboratory automation, focused on enhancing the efforts of our laboratory partners to positively impact patient outcomes," said John Blackwood, Beckman Coulter's senior vice president of products and services. "By accelerating and reducing variability in turnaround time, laboratories can more efficiently provide physicians with the critical information they need to best manage patient care in an environment where every minute matters."