Streck Offers Safety-Coated ESR-Vacuum Tubes
Streck is introducing new safety-coated ESR-vacuum tubes for erythrocyte sedimentation rate determination on the ESR-Auto Plus™ and ESR-100™ analyzers and the ESR-10 manual rack. As many laboratories move to reduce or eliminate the use of glass blood-collection tubes, the new safety-coated tube is the first ESR-vacuum blood-collection tube that offers the safety characteristics of plastic and the performance and stability of glass, according to Streck. Safety-coated ESR-vacuum tubes are designed to provide a safer blood-collection option because they minimize exposure to potentially hazardous blood specimens. In addition, specialized drop testing has shown that safety tubes exhibit significantly less breakage than standard tubes. In the event of tube breakage, the Mylar® coating on the safety tube contains the broken glass and tube contents.

Streck ESR-vacuum tubes are also designed to offer convenience and stability. Patient specimens are collected, mixed, and placed directly into the ESR instrument or rack. Technologists are able to store them for up to 72 hours at refrigerated temperatures without compromising the integrity of the sample. This extended stability is especially useful for facilities transporting patient samples to a centralized location for analysis. Streck also offers standard ESR-vacuum tubes and ESR-vacuum tubes for higher altitudes.

ESR-vacuum tubes are available in 1.2 mL and 2.0 mL draw configurations.

Streck
(800) 843-0912; www.streck.com


Antek Introduces LabDAQ+
Antek HealthWare’s LabDAQ+ is built on the company’s solid foundation in laboratory software. It offers novel features that address the needs of the laboratory, administration, and IT departments alike.

Working with clinic and hospital clients, Antek determined that the needs of today’s laboratory information systems (LIS) extend well beyond the laboratory environment. In response, new features have been designed to dramatically reduce the administrative chore of running the daily lab operation and to assist with IT functions. An early warning system, specifically designed for the IT department, uses SNMP that integrates with clients’ existing networks. New additions include a lab scheduling tool, internal lab-mail, and tasks lists.

LabDAQ+ software was designed with powerful tools that will redefine the administration of the laboratory and will show laboratory information in a new light. These innovative functions present a dashboard view of real-time performance data that will help laboratorians better manage specific tasks and resources. This full-featured system includes a robust microbiology module, a comprehensive management review module, and an intuitive and detailed insurance-filtering module. True bidirectional interfaces with regional and national reference laboratories, as well as HL7 interfaces to a host of EMRs and practice-management systems, are also included.

Antek HealthWare LLC
(800) 359-0911, ext 3; www.antekhealthware.com


Maine Standards Introduces VALIDATE CM1 Kit
Maine Standards Co is offering the VALIDATE® Cardiac Markers 1 (CM1) kit for easy calibration verification/linearity testing of CK-MB and myoglobin. VALIDATE CM1 works on virtually all automated immunoassay systems and is the only linearity product line with multiple configurations. It is designed for the industry’s most widely used instruments, and it is geared to validate and maximize reportable ranges while minimizing manual dilutions.

CM1 test kits contain human serum-based samples with human CK-MB and myoglobin. All VALIDATE test kits are a liquid format and contain enough product volume for two testing cycles on an instrument system.

Maine Standards Co offers data-reduction service free of charge with the purchase of all VALIDATE kits. The service includes both a linearity analysis and a peer-group analysis, with a turnaround time of just 5 business days. Another option is for laboratories to use MSDRx™, Maine Standards’ exclusive do-it-yourself software, to deliver instant linearity analysis and send data via e-mail for peer-group analysis.

Maine Standards Co manufactures kits to test 69 analytes in the following categories: general chemistries; electrolytes; enzymes; therapeutic drug monitoring; lipids; urine chemistries; osmolality; and, now, cardiac markers. The quality system for Maine Standards Co is registered to ISO 13485:2003.

Maine Standards Co LLC
(800) 377-9684; www.mainestandards.com