Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has entered a strategic partnership with Copan and a comarketing agreement with Bruker Corp to bolster the analytical workflow and molecular identification functionality of its microbiology portfolio. This is the latest step by Siemens to provide laboratories with innovative solutions that meet their microbiology specimen, identification, testing, and information management needs. The announcement was made today during the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans.
Microbiological research and testing remains an important component of many clinical laboratories, playing a critical role in identifying more effective management of chronic and infectious diseases. To ensure continued advancements are made in this area, laboratories must have access to the latest pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical workflow technologies that help them detect emerging and low-level resistance on the toughest pathogens, and deliver accurate and reliable results with faster time-to-results (TTR).
A Siemens-Copan partnership specifically supports laboratories’ pre-analytical workflow needs. Through Siemens, laboratories can now add Copan’s Walk-Away Specimen Processor (WASP®) to their existing pre-analytical workflow routine, and with it, take advantage of fully automated bacteriology specimen processing. Individualized sample management, utilizing familiar streaking patterns, standardizes workflow processes and optimizes specimen set-up activities to free up staff resources. The enhanced functionality offered through the WASP® complements pre-analytical workflow features already available within the Siemens MicroScan® portfolio. Furthermore, this partnership helps laboratories streamline testing workflow to cope with the ever-increasing demands of the microbiology laboratory.
Building on breakthroughs in mass spectrometry-based microbial identification, the Siemens-Bruker comarketing agreement for Bruker’s MALDI Biotyper provides faster, more accurate, and very cost-effective molecular microorganism identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for proteomic fingerprinting. This technology provides faster TTR and outstanding accuracy and sensitivity to meet the demands of diverse laboratory needs. Bruker’s next-generation identification technology, combined with MicroScan’s long history of superior, direct MIC testing accuracy offers Siemens’ microbiology customers broader testing capabilities to support evolving clinical and process challenges which microbiology laboratories are facing today.
Beyond these new partnerships, Siemens is enhancing the capabilities of its post-analytical workflow functionally with expansion of the MicroScan LabPro Information Management System. The recent releases of LabPro 4.0 and LabPro Connect now give laboratories access to Siemens’ most powerful microbiology information management tools to date. The system provides effective management of microbiology test results from order to lab information system transmission using intuitive, customizable features to enable faster workflow and delivery of important test results.
Source: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
