CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Access interactive guide Download PDF
Up next: Inform updates, flexible connectivity, and a next-gen system
New to the CAP TODAY lineup of point-of-care blood glucose systems is the Roche Accu-Chek Inform II, which the FDA cleared last fall. It offers meter-level wireless technology, conducts extensive integrity checks with each test, has an advanced laser bar-code scanner, and provides up to three unique patient identifiers. An Other Test Entry feature makes it possible to capture and store results for multiple POC tests.
“The system integrates easily with a hospital network, whether the network is wired, wireless, or a combination of both,” says Mary Catherine Coyle, director of marketing, hospital point of care. Expect software and hardware enhancements this year, she says.
On the market since 2004, HemoCue’s Glucose 201 DM analyzer has “withstood the test of time,” says product marketing manager Terry Carmichael, who adds that the recent focus has been to develop more flexible connectivity solutions. “HemoCue plans to make available options that allow clients to select how they connect HemoCue devices to their [information] system,” Carmichael says, “with our goal of making the connection fees for the client more affordable.”
Abbott Diabetes Care is working with hospitals to help them achieve their patient safety goals, says Rick Burke, U.S. marketing manager, point of care. The Precision Xceed Pro blood glucose and beta-ketone monitoring system is built on Abbott’s “three pillars of patient safety”—bedside accuracy, cross-contamination prevention, and hospital compliance, he says. “Our individually foil-wrapped test strip is just one way Abbott Diabetes Care helps address patient safety and the potential risk of bacterial cross-contamination that can occur with vial-packaged glucose test strips,” Burke adds. Pending FDA approval is a next-generation POC blood glucose and ketone monitoring system, he says.
Nova Biomedical’s StatStrip measures and corrects for common interferences such as hematocrit, acetaminophen, and as-corbic acid. StatStrip biosensors eliminate the need for calibration coding, and the system’s large color display presents multiple patient identifiers. What does Nova marketing specialist Richard Rollins foresee customers requesting in the future? “More point-of-care tests based on a common platform,” he says. Nova released last year its StatStrip Lactate handheld analyzer.
Ten bedside glucose testing systems from six companies are profiled in the following pages. All information is supplied by the companies. Readers interested in a particular product should confirm it has the stated features and capabilities.
[printfriendly] [hr]Brendan Dabkowski is CAP TODAY associate editor.