Human-Centered Engineering in the Lab Can Close the Distance between Providers and Care: Siemens Healthineers to Exhibit How at ADLM 2024

Key highlights:

Friction in the laboratory undermines the clinical value laboratory staff can deliver
95 percent of lab staff surveyed say adoption of automated technologies will help improve patient care¹
Human-centered engineering from Siemens Healthineers offers all-sized labs unmatched potential

Siemens Healthineers has pushed the boundaries of medical engineering to improve patient care for more than 125 years. At the ADLM 2024 Clinical Lab Expo (from July 30 to August 1 at McCormick Place, Chicago, Booth #501), Siemens Healthineers will demonstrate what’s achievable for laboratory testing with human-centered engineering and automation. New capabilities from Siemens Healthineers bring unmatched automation to laboratories of all sizes. Enhancements to the Atellica Portfolio underscore sustainability, leading workflow efficiency, AI-enabled intelligence, and advanced analytics to turn data into practical clinical insights.

Clinical laboratories face universal challenges to operate more efficiently, process more samples, run more reports, or get more productivity from less staff. This friction detracts from the value laboratory staff can contribute to clinicians and patients.

“Test results are the red thread that inform care decisions. Patients rely on laboratory scientists’ expertise for fast and reliable results and insights. Standing in the way are burdensome, repetitive manual tasks that take significant time but are critical and that’s where our new automation features play an essential role,” said Sharon Bracken, head of diagnostics for Siemens Healthineers. “Knowing where to start with automation can be overwhelming, so our goal with human-centered engineering is to simplify, allowing the labs we serve to focus on advancing patient care.”

Successful automation addresses the specific needs of each lab, while standardizing tasks that safeguard quality and safety. Siemens Healthineers consolidates 25 tasks directly into the Atellica systems, which will be on display in Booth #501. Chip, sensors, and lines of code work together to help simplify tasks and minimize hands-on time. In minutes, a single technologist can manage calibration and QC, daily sorting, and archiving processes—tasks that historically may have taken hours—to improve throughput and reduce waste. Atellica Integrated Automation, for example, can reduce end-to-end manual workflow steps by 75 percent and 65 percent of samples run on Atellica Sample Handler can see faster turnaround times than competitor systems.²

Attendees also will see how the Atellica Portfolio is supporting wider health system efficiencies. The ability to shift employees from location to location is increasingly important to maintain required staffing to keep laboratories operational. The industry-leading modular and connectivity options Siemens Healthineers offers seamlessly integrate advanced automation into small and mega-labs alike. The Atellica Solution and Atellica CI Analyzer offer a consistent user experience so that entry-level professionals and experienced medical technologists can be ready to process samples anywhere in the network. Health systems also benefit from the analyzers’ cost savings and sustainability—they consume the least water compared to other integrated analytical systems³ and 98.3 percent percent of Atellica Solution materials can be recycled.

While exploring the Siemens Healthineers booth, attendees will be introduced to FlexLab X, the next-generation total lab automation solution by Inpeco.⁴

Siemens Healthineers offers several decentralized testing solutions that enable timely decision making and treatment. Informatics, emergency, and critical care solutions such as the epoc Blood Analysis System will be available for demonstration.

Throughout the show, clinical experts from Siemens Healthineers will present more than 30 scientific posters. Research topics include automation and analytical techniques, cardiac markers, clinical and diagnostic immunology, endocrinology and metabolism, pediatric and maternal fetal medicine, therapeutic drug monitoring and toxicology, and tumor markers and cancer diagnostics.

Journalists attending ADLM 2024 are invited to join Siemens Healthineers for a press conference on Tuesday, July 30 at 9:00 a.m. in Room S102D. Further details about Siemens Healthineers activities and scheduled events are available here.

References:

Clinical Labs in Critical Condition: What Lab Staff Reveal About Impact of Workforce Shortage; publication date July 30, 2024
Las Vegas Clinical Laboratory UMC Prioritizes STAT Runs, Streamlines Through Consolidation; Dark Daily Jan 2022. The outcomes achieved by the Siemens Healthineers customer described here were achieved in the customer’s unique setting. Since there is no typical hospital or laboratory, and many variables exist (e.g., hospital/laboratory size, case mix, level of IT adoption), there can be no guarantee that others will achieve the same results.
Atellica Solution average water consumption with Atellica IM 1300 and Atellica CH 930 Analyzers for a representative worklist of the top-used assays by customers. cobas pro (ISE/c503/e801 - User Guide – Publication version 3.3 - Software version 02-03). Consumption depending on the number of analytical units. cobas pure integrated solutions Software version 01-03 User Guide Publication version 2.1. Alinity ci-series Operations Manual 80000071-105. AU5800 Chemistry Analyzer - Beckman Coulter - Instructions for Use - PN A98352AC (September 2015). The Beckman AU5811 cannot be combined with the DxI 9000 in one system. https://www.beckmancoulter.com/en/products/immunoassay/dxi-9000-access-immunoassay-analyzer. Because of Siemens Healthineers commitment to sustainability, we were pleased to report that the data generated in a real laboratory environment confirms that the Atellica Solution Portfolio performs on par or better compared to other currently available chemistry and immunoassay analyzers. See Figure 1 and Table 14 for comparisons of water and power consumption vs. other analyzers available on the market.
Product availability varies by country and is subject to varying regulatory requirements. Please contact your local representative for availability. FlexLab X Automation is manufactured by Inpeco SA and distributed by Siemens Healthineers Diagnostics. FlexLab is a trademark of Inpeco SA.