Facts on ABL90 FLEX

ABL90 FLEX is a cassette-based blood gas analyzer developed for point-of-care

testing (POCT). The new analyzer represents state-of-the-art technology built on
Radiometer’s more than 50 years’ heritage in research and development in analytical
diagnostic devices.

The ABL90 FLEX gives healthcare professionals more time for patient care by
providing the fastest blood gas results available on the market today. It only
takes 35 seconds to perform a test on the comprehensive acute care panel with 17
parameters. This is about a third of the time spent on testing with other analyzers.

Fast test results shorten the time needed before an accurate diagnosis can be made and
the correct medical treatment initiated. This provides clinical benefits in the treatment of
patients and contributes to reduce in-patient days and make them less costly.

Faster and better clinical decisions also improve the workflow in the hospital. It releases
more time, as healthcare professionals can spend less time waiting for results. It also
provides a more efficient patient flow, where patients can quickly be transferred to the
appropriate wards after diagnosis. For patients under surveillance e.g. patients suffering
from respiratory diseases or postoperative patients, it becomes less time consuming to
get test results regularly and it equally frees time for essential patient care.

A turnaround time of 60 seconds reduces time waiting for the analyzer to be ready
for the next test and thus helps to avoid queues to use the analyzer.

The ABL90 FLEX is a compact solution with a weight of only 11 kg (24.4 lbs) it is
portable or can be placed on a rolling stand. This means that the caregivers can perform
the test and diagnose the patient close to the bedside, which is proven to provide better
patient outcomesi. The compact design (25x29x45 cm) is also convenient in hospital
wards already packed with equipment.

A blood sample of only 65 µL is required to perform a blood gas analysis on the full
panel. This gives neonatal patients who only have very little blood available the best
start in life.

The new analyzer performs tests on the following parameters:

 Blood gas values (pH, pCO2, pO2)
 Oximetry values (ctHb, sO2, FO2Hb, FCOHb, FHHb, FMetHb, FHbF)
 Electrolyte values (cK+, cNa+, cCa2+, cCI-)
 Metabolite values (cGlu, cLac, ctBil)

A POCT analyzer should be built to minimize possible user errors, thereby avoiding the
risk of human error due to wrong utilization. The ABL90 FLEX communicates with the
user through a step-by-step user guide on the touch screen in order to make the
analyzer easy and simple to use and quick to operate.

Radiometer’s RADIANCE analyzer and data management system provides full

connectivity to hospital IT systems. Analyzer data is continuously synchronized and
decentralized analyzers can be monitored from a central location giving the hospital full
control of its data and the functioning of the devices.

The new analyzer works with Radiometer’s automatic patient-sample match system, 1st
automatic, which is designed to reduce user errors and eliminate patient-sample mixups.
A prebarcoded safePICO sampler and the FLEXLINK software automatically link patient
and sample IDs at the bedside, and the sample’s barcode is recognized at the analyzer
and connected directly to the patient’s medical records.

Maintenance and downtime are often time-consuming tasks associated with analyzers,
and truly a task that does not fit into the busy schedule of productive hospitals. The
ABL90 FLEX offers 23.5 hours of average uptime per day. It takes a few seconds to
replace the sensor cassette and solution pack, and there is a 30-day in-use lifetime for
the consumables of the analyzer. This reduces time spent on maintenance of the
analyzer to a minimum.

ABL90 FLEX has been awarded the Medical

Design Excellence Awards 2010 in recognition
of a design to innovate the face of healthcare as
we know it today. Each year companies involved in
design, engineering, manufacturing and
distribution of medical devices/packaging compete
in this worldwide quest to gain recognition for
medical excellence in design and functionality.

i
Collinson PO et al. A prospective randomized controlled trial of point-of-care testing on the
coronary care unit. Ann Clin Biochem 2004; 41: 397-404