Axis-Shield UK appointed distributor for i-STAT® point of care system

In a new exclusive agreement with manufacturer Abbott Diagnostics, Axis-Shield UK will distribute the i-STAT® point of care system to non-hospital sites in England and Wales. This revolutionary, handheld analyser provides reliable test results in minutes, using a test cartridge and as little as two drops of blood. The instrument is portable, easy to use, and incorporates the industry's most comprehensive panel of point of care tests on a single platform.

With i-STAT, lab-accurate results are available within 2-10 minutes enabling healthcare professionals to more quickly and effectively monitor and manage patients. The panel of test cartridges includes blood gases, electrolytes, chemistries, coagulation, lactate, haematocrit and cardiac markers (cTnI).

Using advanced microfluidics, i-STAT cartridges are completely self-contained and designed to optimise result integrity for patient testing. To perform a test, two drops of blood are applied to the cartridge, which is then inserted into the analyser. Processing is fully automated and, because it uses a whole blood sample, there is no need for time-consuming centrifugation. The instrument can store up to 5,000 patient records which are easily printable or downloadable into the hospital's LIS/HIS system.