Mindray Hematology Solution Helps High-Volume Lab in Brazil Run 2,820,000 CBC Tests A Year

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Mindray CAL 8000 Empowering High-volume CientíficaLab in Brazil
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CientíficaLab in Sao Paulo, Brazil, faced the same challenges as many high-volume laboratories do, but it has found a tailor-made solution in its recent partnership with Mindray.

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Owned by one of the largest diagnostic laboratory chains in the world, CientíficaLab provides clinical analysis service to 26 hospitals and 883 outpatient units in the Brazil public sector. CientíficaLab’s headquarters alone performs 3,000,000 different tests per month, with up to 9,000 hematology tests each day – totaling nearly 2,820,000 a year.

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The staff at CientíficaLab have to handle large amount of blood samples that flood in every day.

The laboratory used to perform all its blood tests on more than a dozen stand-alone analyzers and slide makers, which was low efficient and demanded a lot of manpower. With overwhelming workload, the staff at the laboratory had to work extremely long hours, with 3 shifts a day, 6 days a week. High failure rate of the old instruments posed another daunting challenge, often resulting in extensive downtime.

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"We were struggling to improve our productivity while maintaining cost-effectiveness," said Alisson Marassi, Executive Production Manager at CientíficaLab. "So we started looking for a replacement for our older analyzers that is more reliable and, more importantly, one that can help streamline our workflow."

 

Having studied the laboratory’s challenges, Mindray came up with a hematology automation solution that is tailor-made for CientíficaLab.

 

 

Automation improves productivity

To automate its workflow and improve productivity, Mindray proposed replacing the old stand-alone instruments with two high performance CAL 8000 Cellular Analysis Lines, each connecting 4 units of BC-6800Plus Auto Hematology Analyzers and 1 unit of SC-120 Auto Slide Maker and Stainer. Equipped with the labXpert data analysis software, the automation lines can automatically validate test results and perform rerun and retest of abnormal hematology samples as per pre-defined rules. This helps reduce the laboratory's manual work substantially and improve its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

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The automation lines help the laboratory reduce manual handling and improve work efficiency.
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With the introduction of CAL 8000, we have increased our testing capacity. The SC-120 Slide Maker and Stainer makes slides for microscopic analysis, then the results will be automatically validated and ready to report.

 

Fabiana Gomes Lancellotti

Hematology Department Supervisor, CientificaLab

Customized design optimizes workflow

But how to arrange the two lines in the extremely compact area in a way that can do more with less?

 

After tracking the laboratory’s working path of samples, from collection to testing to microscopic analysis, Mindray provided a customized solution – placing the two automation lines face-to-face, but re-configuring one of them to make its sample route in the same direction as the other. This special design will enable just one technician to easily handle large amount of samples on both lines at the same time creating the shortest, most time-saving route from sample loading to unloading, all the way to microscopic review and result delivery.

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By placing one CAL 8000 face-to-face with the other, and adjusting the sample routes in the same direction, we can reduce the number of staff and make the process much simpler. Our productivity has improved by 50%.

 

Adurei Roberto Bertini

Production Manager, CientificaLab

During onsite inspection, Mindray team discovered another possibility of helping CientíficaLab optimize their workflow. Before installing CAL 8000, the laboratory technicians had to print out the test result of the abnormal sample, and then bring the result along with the slide to the microscopy area for result comparison. These paper documents will be filed away for five years, managing which will be a demanding task. Mindray helped digitalize the process by installing the labXpert software at the microscopy area which allows data transfer and storage within the laboratory information system. Simply by scanning the barcode on the slides, technicians can easily access the information of the test results during microscopic analysis.a

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Reliable system enhances efficiency

Higher stability and reliability of the CAL 8000 system have also brought significant benefits for CientíficaLab in terms of enhanced efficiency and faster TAT. The laboratory used to have 11 stand-alone instruments that always had breakdown issues, with uptime of only around 60% to 70%. "Waiting for engineers to repair or spare parts to be sent could take days. It had a huge impact on our daily routine," said Ms. Fabiana.

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The introduction of CAL 8000 with its reliability and stability has been a gift for the laboratory. "In very few cases, if the Mindray analyzers have got some failure issue, it will be fixed on the very same day or no later than on the next day by Mindray or its local distributor."

 

"Also it’s important to mention that the full capacity of just one CAL 8000 is superior to the previous 11 instruments. So with two Mindray automation lines working in good condition, the performance of our lab has increased a lot," added the Hematology Supervisor.

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With the introduction of the two customized CAL 8000, CientíficaLab has achieved significant improvement in both production capacity and cost-effectiveness.

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