A familiar part of a visit to the doctor, or a stay at the hospital, are laboratory tests that are used to help unravel the mystery of a disease or ailment. Lab test results are often what your doctor uses to prescribe medicine and can be an important part of a diagnosis. Because laboratory tests are such an important part of determining a patient’s plan of care, St. Anthony’s laboratory has installed a new Beckman Coulter DxC 600 chemistry analyzer. The new analyzer increases the number and types of laboratory tests that St. Anthony’s lab can perform. The DxC 600 will run about 70 different tests for the laboratory, including kidney functions, liver, heart, and pancreas enzymes. It will be used for testing on serum, spinal fluid and urine specimens. The new analyzer can perform approximately 990 tests per hour, almost four times the 250 tests per hour that could previously be completed.

In addition to the expanded test menu, the new analyzer increases safety for staff and operates with closed tube sampling, which allows better sample integrity and more accurate test results. Dr. Jed Hagen, pathologist at St. Anthony, said, “The new analyzer will enhance work flow and efficiency in the lab, allowing St. Anthony’s laboratory staff to focus on providing our patients the highest level of quality for their laboratory tests and enhanced patient care.”