The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Hospital Trust has become the UK's 50th placement of a Beckman Coulter UniCel DxH 800 Coulter Cellular Analysis System. This is the first stage in the hospital's £2 million-pound investment programme to improve and expand the automation of its laboratory services. Over the last decade, the laboratory has faced an average rise in workloads of 4-5% per annum. However, they have risen sharply in the last two years to 9% per year, with demand from GPs running at 50% of total test requests. The laboratory now handles well over 400,000 full blood counts a year.
In addition to three DxH 800 analysers installed in the central laboratory, an additional system will also be located in the clinical haematology oncology unit. As laboratory manager Steve Walton explained: "Today's NHS demands a streamlined, highly efficient service from hospital laboratories - more samples processed, a consistent and fast turnaround time, with the cost per test reduced."
Designed for mid- to high-volume laboratories, the DxH 800 features new high-definition multidimensional cellular analysis technology, which produces 10 times more data than traditional haematology analysers. The technology of the DxH offers improved performance and results accuracy. The system is configured with no exposed moving parts, making it one of the most reliable and safest haematology instruments the market has to offer.
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