Webinars and Sponsored Roundtables — Register Now
Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 11:00-11:30 AM CT
- Explain how transparency and manufacturer partnerships improve quality, consistency, and decision-making confidence in specimen management.
- Evaluate blood collection tubes beyond cost and commodity assumptions, incorporating clinical impact and risk into decision-making.
- Assess the potential risk points when using a blood collection device that has not been cleared for a specific purpose.
Roundtable presenters Nick Fingland, PhD, PMP, Senior Director, R&D Operations and Science, BD, and Chris Farnsworth, PhD, D(ABCC), Section Head of Clinical Chemistry, Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine.
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Learn about digital pathology technology that is future-ready, yet practical for today’s
laboratory needs.
Webinar presenters Scott Hammond, Senior Systems Consultant, Digital Pathology Division, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology, and Ursula Hofer, Imaging Technologist, Pathology Digital Imaging Lab, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology, and Sandra Banky, PA(ASCP), Director of Operations, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology.
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
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Product Spotlight
HORIBA
| Company | HORIBA |
|---|---|
| Name of instrument | Pentra C400 |
| Contact | Susan Behnke |
| City, State | Irvine, CA |
| Phone | 888-903-5001 |
| Website | |
| Type of instrument | chemistry |
| Operational type/Model type | batch, random access, continuous random access, discrete/benchtop |
| List price/First year sold in U.S. | $100,000/2006 |
| Targeted hospital bed size/Targeted test volume | ≤ 250/daily: 1,200; monthly: 24,000; annual: 288,000 |
| Company manufactures instrument | yes (also sold by distribution partners) |
| Other models in this family of analyzers | Pentra 400, Pentra C200 |
| No. of units in clinical use in U.S./Outside U.S. (countries) | 650/ 1,900 |
| Dimensions (H × W × D)/Instrument footprint | 25 × 40 × 28 in./7.7 sq. ft. |
| Weight empty/Weight fully loaded | 264 lbs./266 lbs. |
| No. of different measured assays onboard simultaneously | 55 (55 can be run and calibrated at one time) |
| No. of user-definable (open chemistry) channels | 40 (40 can be active simultaneously) |
| Test throughput per hour/Assay run time | 420 (4 tests in throughput)/1–10 min. (avg. 5 min.) |
| No. of direct ion-selective electrode channels | 3 |
| Detection methods | photometry, potentiometry, enzyme immunoassay immunoturbidimetry |
| Stat time until completion/specimen throughput for ion-selective electrode | < 5 min./37 specimens per hr. |
| Stat time until completion/specimen throughput for basic metabolic panel | 7.5 min./35 specimens per hr. |
| Stat time until completion/specimen throughput for complete metabolic panel | < 11 min./23 specimens per hr. |
| Typical time delay from ordering stat test until aspiration of sample | < 1 min. |
| Fully automated microplate immunoassay system | — |
| Methodologies supported | — |
| Separation methodologies | — |
| Stat time until completion of a ß-hCG test | — |
| Stat time until completion of a cTn test | — |
| • Typical time delay from test order to aspiration of sample | — |
| Approximate No. of tests per reagent set/Reagent type | 100–400/self-contained multiuse, open reagent system |
| Reagents refrigerated onboard/Reagents ready to use | yes (2°–8°C)/variable; reagent specific |
| Reagent lot tracking/Reagent inventory | yes/yes |
| Reagent form/Reagents barcoded | liquid chemistry (open reagent system)/yes |
| Separate reagent pack for each specimen/for each test run | no/no |
| Walkaway capability/Walkaway duration | yes/180 min. or 60 specimens or > 800 tests/assays |
| Design of sample-handling system | rack |
| Uses washable cuvettes/Uses disposable cuvettes | no/yes (can store up to 432 cuvettes) |
| Min.–max. sample volume that can be aspirated at one time | 2–60 µL |
| Min. reaction volume/Min. specimen volume/Min. dead volume | 180 µL/2 µL/100 µL |
| Dedicated pediatric sample cup | yes (dead volume: 100 µL) |
| Primary tube sampling | yes |
| Accommodates most standard tube sizes/Accepts nonstandard tube sizes | yes/yes |
| Pierces caps on primary tubes | no |
| Protects against probe collision | yes |
| Detects clots/liquid level/short sample | yes/yes/yes |
| Detection or quantitation for hemolysis, icterus, lipemia, clots | detection for clots; hemolysis, icterus, lipemia not available |
| Dilutes patient samples onboard/Susceptibility to carryover | yes (can be programmed to perform dilutions prior to analysis)/— |
| Automatic rerun capability | yes |
| Sample volume can be diluted to rerun out-of-linear-range high results | yes |
| Sample volume can be concentrated to rerun out-of-linear-range low results | yes |
| Autocalibration/Multipoint calibration supported | yes (calibrants can be stored onboard)/yes (recommended avg. frequency: 14 days) |
| Typical calibration frequency for ISE/therapeutic drugs/drugs of abuse/general chemistries/immunoassays | 2 hrs. (automatic)/—/—/avg. 14 days/— |
| Automatic programmable start/Automatic programmable shutdown | yes (5 min. start-up time)/no |
| Onboard real-time QC/Onboard software capability to review QC | yes/yes |
| Supports multiple QC lot numbers per analyte | no |
| Waste management | direct to drain or container if no drain available |
| Sample barcode-reading capability/Autodiscrimination | yes (Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC, Codabar, Code 39, Code 128)/yes |
| Lab can control analyzer from remote computer | no |
| Instrument can diagnose its own malfunctions | yes (operator intervention required to order parts) |
| System malfunctions can be diagnosed via remote monitoring | yes |
| UPS backup power supply | no |
| Data-management capability/LIS or EHR systems interfaced | onboard/CGM LabDaq, Clinisys, Oracle Health, Meditech, Schuyler House |
| LIS interface provided/Bidirectional interface capability | no/yes (broadcast download and host query) |
| Modem servicing provided/Service engineer on-site response time | no/< 24 hrs. |
| Mean time between failures | avg. 250 days (displays error codes for troubleshooting) |
| Average scheduled maintenance time by lab personnel | daily: < 5 min.; weekly: < 15 min.; monthly: < 30 min. |
| Maintenance records kept onboard for user/vendor | yes (includes audit trail of who replaced parts)/no |
| Maintenance training demonstration module onboard | no |
| Training included with purchase/Avg. time for basic user training | yes/2.5 days (at customer or vendor site) |
| Advanced operator training/Extra charge for follow-up or advanced training | yes (at vendor site)/yes |
| Warranty provided/Cost of annual service contract (24 h/7 d) | yes (1 year)/— |
| Distinguishing features (supplied by company) | full menu of moderately complex drugs of abuse and general chemistry assays; can run up to 55 assays onboard with 420 results/hr.; no requirement for external water system, no drain or special electrical required; remote diagnostics available for real-time troubleshooting; flexible, open-channel system capable of running ″ 40 third-party reagents onboard |