Health Professional News

Branchburg, NJ, February 09, 1998

Breakthrough Lab Instrument In Place At Greenwood Medical Laboratory

Indiana's First COBAS INTEGRA(r) System - Capable of Simultaneous Testing

The way medical laboratory tests are handled will be different from now on in Greenwood, thanks to a new laboratory instrument capable of reducing the wait for blood test results from days to hours or even minutes. Named the COBAS INTEGRA(r), it represents a breakthrough in laboratory technology, as it is the first single instrument of its size capable of performing more than 71 simultaneous tests with rapid turnaround.

Greenwood Medical Laboratory is now home to the first COBAS INTEGRA system in Indiana. This diagnostic laboratory serves medical practices throughout the region by performing general blood chemistry analyses and therapeutic drug monitoring. The new instrument will ultimately allow the laboratory to also handle high volumes of drugs of abuse screenings for area employers. According to Greenwood Medical Laboratory President Earl Smith, the instrument will make an immediate impact on laboratory services and, in turn, patient care. This is seen in improved provider convenience and efficiency. In effect, the new instrument can help save time and money.

"Doctors rely on laboratory information to make diagnoses and prescribe therapies," explains Smith. "This new instrument allows us to turn test results around much faster, when necessary. It also allows us to run many tests at once, which makes the laboratory work more efficiently. If a physician needs laboratory tests quickly, we have capabilities to provide results faster than were possible before.

The COBAS INTEGRA system was created by Roche Diagnostic Systems. With an integrated computer control component, the COBAS INTEGRA system allows the practice to handle the work of several sophisticated instruments. "This type of development in the healthcare process is in some ways as significant as a new drug that improves the ability to care for patients," notes Scott Rairigh, marketing manager for Roche Diagnostic Systems. "In terms of automation and workstation consolidation, it's a major advance. I truly think it represents the next generation of laboratory testing." "Patients and physicians in the Indianapolis area are fortunate to have a progressive facility like Greenwood Medical Laboratory willing to employ the latest technologies to meet the health needs of the region. We are proud to place the very first COBAS INTEGRA in Indiana with them."

COBAS INTEGRA is an enhanced clinical chemistry analyzer that is capable of measuring levels of substrates, electrolytes, thyroid hormones, enzymes, therapeutic drugs, and specific proteins, as well as detecting drugs of abuse. Offering true test group consolidation for routine and special chemistry, COBAS INTEGRA has a menu of 80 approved assays. Materials required to perform the tests (such as chemical reagents) are utilized on an as-needed basis, so waste is minimized. All samples are identified and tracked with an advanced computer barcoding system that eliminates errors and saves time. And exposure to biohazards by laboratory personnel is dramatically minimized due to an automatic disposal system and enclosed robotic operations.

As physicians and hospitals feel the influence of managed care and the drive to contain healthcare costs, this instrument should help streamline laboratory work and hopefully improve the patient care process.

About Roche Diagnostic Systems
Headquartered in Branchburg, New Jersey, Roche Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (RDS) is a manufacturer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, reagents, and sophisticated analytical instrumentation used in criminal justice agencies, hospitals, clinical laboratories, and physicians' offices. Among RDS' advanced instrumentation for hospital and clinical laboratories and physicians' offices are the COBAS INTEGRA(r) and the COBAS MIRA(r) automated chemistry analyzer systems.