The integrated platform combines chemistry and microscopy to manage rising testing volumes and reduce manual reviews.
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics announced the US launch of the DxU 1800 System. The fully automated system, being unveiled at the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, combines a new chemistry analyzer and consumables with microscopy technology to help laboratories provide standardized results at scale.
Urinalysis is a frequently ordered diagnostic test, with approximately 1 in 3 patient visits in US emergency departments involving a urine test. In non-acute care settings, up to 87% of primary care patients receive urinalysis, according to a release from Beckman Coulter.
“Despite urinalysis’s essential role and growing volume trends, many laboratories still rely on workflows requiring manual review, fragmented processes or separate chemistry and microscopy systems,” says Matthew Rhyner, vice president and managing director, hematology and urinalysis business for Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, in a release. “As testing shifts to larger core and reference labs, these inefficiencies can create bottlenecks, variability, and staffing strain.”
The system integrates the DxU 1800c Chemistry analyzer with the DxU Iris Microscopy analyzer. This combination unifies chemical analysis and particle imaging into a single high-throughput platform, reducing manual microscopic review rates to less than 3%.
The standalone DxU 1800c Chemistry analyzer can process up to 300 samples per hour and features storage for 2,000,000 samples and 100,000 strip images. Results are displayed on-screen for review. Beckman Coulter also plans to expand the menu to include creatinine and microalbumin assays to provide additional kidney function insights during routine screening.
The launch addresses increasing demand driven by rising rates of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and urinary tract infections. Diabetes prevalence has doubled in the US over the last 50 years, while CKD affects nearly 15% of adults. UTIs account for approximately 10 million clinical encounters annually, according to the company.
Photo caption: DxU 1800 System
Photo credit: Beckman Coulter Diagnostics
