Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics announces enhancements to its CentraLink™ Data Management System, a lab process management solution that consolidates patient and quality-control data from multiple instruments and provides centralized control over critical lab processes. New functionality synchronizes automation workflow to increase efficiency and quality, as well as expands connectivity.

CentraLink helps laboratories overcome the hurdles caused by lack of IT system integration by serving as a single communication link between the laboratory information system (LIS), instruments, automation system(s) and multiple users within the central laboratory or across multiple locations.

Siemens’ latest CentraLink version (v14) builds upon these benefits by delivering expanded connectivity to multiple LIS, plus the Bio-Rad Unity System. It also can now detect if an instrument connected to an automation track is offline, and will automatically re-route samples to another available instrument, thereby contributing to improved turnaround time. Enhanced workflow is achieved via a new automated sample status feature that tracks arriving samples in real time, enabling labs to create custom counters (such as those for tropinin) for faster results. Managing lab processes is also easier, thanks to proactive quality control (QC) alerts that flag QCs set to expire. Plus, CentraLink v14 can be customized per end user, speeding up system access and supporting error reduction among staff.

Source: Siemens Healthcare