Roche has launched a laboratory conveyor system, the cobas connection modules (CCM) Vertical, for the U.S. market. The elevator and overhead components of its fully automated and modular CCM system are designed to help low-, mid-, and high-volume laboratories optimize space, productivity, and patient care.

“The CCM Vertical is the only laboratory conveyor system in the U.S. that moves samples up and down without reducing overall track speed, throughput or turnaround times,” says Brad Moore, president and CEO, Roche Diagnostics North America. “The CCM system is about quality, flexibility and efficiency – helping labs of all sizes meet today’s challenges to increase testing capacity, accelerate results, overcome staffing shortages and reduce errors.”

The CCM Vertical includes elevator units, overhead conveyors, and overhead turn units that seamlessly integrate with Roche’s other CCM solutions. This cobas solution helps laboratorians simplify their lab operations by transporting patient samples hands-free in every direction – up, down, across, and between rooms, around doorways, emergency exits, and walkways, and through walls, ceilings, and floors. 

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About the CCM Vertical

This solution is one of the broader laboratory-automation offerings delivered by Roche that can be customized for low-, mid-, and high-volume laboratories with the ability to facilitate on-site expansion as required, the company says.

With this solution, pre- and post-analytical tasks are automated, offering maximum efficiency through flexible standalone solutions. It reduces manual steps in the laboratory, enhancing error handling, safety, and process quality.  Additionally, it offers transportation. Physically connecting different instruments allows for maximum predictability of time to test results.

The solution consists of the following main (modular) components:

  • Elevator units (adjustable walk-through height of 1.87-2.24 meters)
  • Overhead Conveyor units
  • Overhead Turntable units

The first CCM Vertical implementation in the U.S. is scheduled to go live at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in early 2024.

Featured image: Roche’s laboratory conveyor system, the cobas connection modules (CCM) Vertical. Photo: Roche