Beckman Coulter Inc has released the second in its series of UniCel brand laboratory instruments: the UniCel® DxC 600 Synchron® Clinical System. It offers a broad test menu while providing accurate results and reliability. The addition of the new analyzer reflects the company’s strategy to deliver standardized, seamless product lines with flexible connectivity for greater workstation consolidation. The first in the series, the UniCel DxI 800 Access® Immunoassay System, debuted in 2003 and can perform up to 400 tests per hour.
     “Each modular system in the UniCel family is designed for easy multi-platform configuration, management, and connectivity, enabling labs to consolidate workstations, optimize workload and labor resources, and reduce costs,” says Jeff McHugh, vice president of lab systems and routine testing for Beckman Coulter’s diagnostic division. “The UniCel line also improves productivity by enabling health care networks to standardize inventory and lab testing methods across multiple locations to increase consistency and quality of results reporting.”
     The UniCel DxC 600 features onboard capacity of 65 reagents and throughput up to 990 tests per hour. It provides results for 96 basic metabolic panels within 1 hour. More than 100 liquid, ready-to-use reagents are available for use on the system, including general chemistries, critical care chemistries, proteins, serologies, and esoteric chemistries, as well as therapeutic drug monitoring and drugs-of-abuse tests.
     The DxC 600 can be configured with Beckman Coulter’s proprietary closed-tube sampling (CTS) technology, which increases lab efficiency while speeding test turnaround time and reducing operators’ exposure to biohazards and repetitive-motion injuries. CTS also helps prevent erroneous results caused by evaporation or sample contamination.
     The capability to perform automated serum indices further improves the quality of test results by removing the need for visual, subjective interpretation of hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia contamination. In addition, automatic clot detection and correction reduces sample exceptions. The system also features automatic stat notification, rerun of samples with abnormal results, review by exception, and a work-pending log that helps improve workflow and results management.
     The DxC 600 can be configured with a near-infrared particle immunoassay (NIPIA) detection system that operates at a 940 nm wavelength. This technology helps labs achieve reliable results for low-concentration analytes, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein testing.

Beckman Coulter Inc
(800) 352-3433; www.beckmancoulter.com