Three years after the launch of the STA Compact Max designed for all medium size laboratories, this new version, the STA Compact Max2, uses the STA Coag Expert software which is now totally standardized with the high throughput STA R Max to optimize user-friendliness across multi-site labs. The Stago viscosity-based (mechanical) detection system ensures reliability of results against optical interferences. The robustness of STA Compact Max2 has also been further improved to reduce user maintenance operations. With a new hardware design and improved ergonomics, the STA Compact Max2 optimizes productivity. Innovation is also supported by new software features bringing expertise to every lab: expert rules to standardize patient results validation and extended traceability to meet quality requirements. Extensive walkaway capability and true STAT management to ensure a fast turnaround time are the main features of the STA Compact Max2. Samples and reagents management have additionally been enhanced and streamlined for better efficiency with a new cap piercing module extending sample tubes compatibility.   The software also provides more flexibility to manage multiple lots and calibration curves on-board.
The company’s extensive reagents line covers all aspects of hemostasis from routine to the most specialized tests, including a wide range of liquid ready-to-use products, with extended on-board stability, unique pre-calibration feature and a fully barcoded management for increased safety.

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A compact, affordable and efficient instrument, the SK500 Chemistry System offers a broad menu of high quality SEKURE reagents for the benefit of physicians’ office or hospital laboratory. The SK500 has a throughput of up to 580 tests/hour with ISE, 72 patient sample on-board capability, minimizes the use of water (13L/day) and has 36 onboard assays (+3 ISE) to meet the testing needs of small-to-moderate volume laboratories.  A simple and intuitive interface requires minimal training, and utilization of primary tubes and cups allows for easy deployment.

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Siemens Healthcare Laboratory Diagnostics has launched the industry’s first automated quantitative thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) assay used in the differential diagnosis of Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder which affects approximately 32 million people worldwide. The assay is available on the Siemens IMMULITE 2000 and IMMULITE 2000 XPi immunoassay systems. Unlike TRAb (TSH receptor antibody) assays which detect both stimulating and blocking antibodies, the Siemens TSI assay specifically detects only thyroid stimulating antibodies, which are the hallmark of Graves’ disease. This makes the assay highly specific to aid in the disease’s diagnosis. With a clinical sensitivity and specificity of 98.3% and 99.7% respectively, the new Siemens TSI assay offers laboratories a fast, easy, and specific diagnostic tool for the assessment of Graves’ disease. As the first automated quantitative TSI assay on the market, it eliminates the need for manual preparations and long incubation times. Not only does this automated assay streamline lab operations and enhance efficiency, it also delivers results to clinicians much more quickly enabling faster patient diagnosis and initiation of proper treatment. Graves’ disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism, and is characterized by the presence of TSI, which are found in over 90 percent of patients. TSI mimic the activity of TSH, leading to an elevated production of thyroid hormone. Left untreated, Graves’ disease can lead to miscarriage, birth defects, thyroid eye disease, and can even be life-threatening. Women carry a 10 -20 fold risk of acquiring Graves’ disease compared to men.

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This new coagulation analyser, the cobas t 411 analyser, now available for countries accepting the CE Mark, is a stand-alone laboratory coagulation system that is suitable for low-volume routine testing (up to 120 samples per day). The cobas t 411 analyser allows continuous loading of all samples, reagents and the cuvettes, which hold the required samples and reagents during testing. This will ultimately help reduce workflow interruption. The unique cuvette design, and readiness check prior to measurement, helps improve quality of results. The multimode cap piercing, which recognizes different sample cap types prior to sampling, gives flexibility and convenience. In addition, the analyser has the highest reagent capacity on the market for reduced hands-on time, compared to other systems offered at low-volume coagulation laboratories. Laboratory coagulation testing accounts for around one fifth of the total sample workload of the core laboratory. The cobas t 411 analyser serves low-volume central coagulation laboratories and features innovative sample and reagent management concepts that may enable increased operator convenience and productivity. The analyser offers cap-piercing as a standard feature, which maximizes throughput when combined with the five position rack-based sample handling. High on-board capacities for reagents and samples, along with continuous loading of reagents, samples and consumables, result in increased walk-away times. Efficient reagent use is optimized with on-board barcode scanning capability and cooled, tilted reagent racks. Patient safety is prioritized through the unique opto-mechanical detection principle by checking each sample before measurement, as well as the always available STAT port, whereby emergency samples can be immediately processed with test results returned in a timely fashion.

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Autoantibodies against BP180, BP20, collagen type VII, desmoglein 1 and 3 and envoplakin can be detected simultaneously using a new multiparameter ELISA profile, considerably facilitating the diagnosis and differentiation of autoimmune bullous dermatoses (AIBD). The six autoantibodies are detected with high sensitivity and specificity using recombinant fragments of the immunodominant regions of the different target antigens. Each antigen is present in a separate well of the ELISA strip, providing convenient parallel analysis. In clinical evaluation, sensitivities of between 60% (anti-BP230 in bullous pemphigoid) and 100% (anti-desmoglein 3 in pemphigus vulgaris) and specificities of between 97.3% (anti-BP180 NC16A) and 100% (anti-collagen VII) were obtained with sera from patients with different AIBD and negative controls. In a further, prospective study using consecutive sera from patients with suspected AIBD, the ELISA yielded an agreement of 87% with conventional stepwise diagnostics (histology, direct and indirect immunofluorescence on biopsies and skin substrates, as well as monospecific tests like ELISA or immunoblots with cellular extracts). Discrepant results were attributed to the absence of certain target structures (e.g. p200 antigen, BP180 ectodomains) and the lack of IgA autoantibody detection. AIBD diseases are rare diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. The detection of circulating autoantibodies has in recent years become a central tenet of diagnosis and differentiation of AIBD. Antibodies against BP180 and BP230 occur in pemphigoid diseases, antibodies against desmoglein 1 and 3 and against envoplakin in pemphigus diseases, and antibodies against type VII collagen in acquired epidermolysis bullosa. Analysis of the six autoantibody specificities with the multiparameter profile ELISA allows diagnosis of 91% of pemphigus and around 76% of pemphigoid diseases in one step.

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