The Ortho Connect v2.0 middleware system from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Ortho), Raritan, NJ, has received the CE mark, signifying conformity with European Union market requirements. The system is now available for purchase in Europe and other countries that accept the CE mark.
The integrated and customizable intermediary software streamlines laboratory operations, enabling lab professionals to manage multiple instruments from a single console and to define rules specific to their needs. It also enables the Ortho Vision and Ortho Vision Max immunohematology analyzers, which test blood for transfusion compatibility, to connect to a hospital’s laboratory information system (LIS) to exchange data and simplify processes.
Designed to strengthen the capabilities of Ortho’s transfusion medicine portfolio, the system aims to address the myriad demands placed on lab managers, whose limited staff have diverse skill sets and are asked to serve an expanding array of health networks. With cost containment and increased hemovigilance top of mind, lab managers need to consolidate and standardize their instruments while optimizing both automation and workflow.
Ortho Connect provides labs with highly customizable middleware that enables them to automate results validation and quality control (QC) activities; to simplify processes such as data management and regulatory compliance that LIS cannot do alone; and to enhance efficiency through remote connectivity. The middleware system offers functionality that supports a lab’s ability to improve safety and lab efficiency at every step of the testing process.
“Ortho is focused on diminishing the complexities of immunohematology testing while improving safety, speed, and efficiency throughout the blood bank,” says Robert Yates, chief operating officer at Ortho. “Ortho Connect does just that. . . . It’s the perfect complement to our Ortho Vision family of analyzers.”
Using Ortho Connect, labs can choose from more than 40 rules to meet their specific demands. Pre-process conversion rules can automatically perform specific tests, and post-processing reflex testing can be defined to deliver required results. By automating results validation and QC testing, the middleware simplifies processes, ensures compliance, and increases result traceability.
The system works seamlessly with the integrated and scalable suite of products Ortho has developed for immunohematology labs.
For more information, visit Ortho.
