Siemens launches handheld POC coag analyzer

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has introduced a handheld coagulation analyzer. The Xprecia Stride Coagulation Analyzer aims to deliver quick, reliable prothrombin time testing for point-of-care monitoring and management of oral anticoagulation therapy with warfarin. The analyzer was designed to meet the growing demand for fast and reliable PT/INR results in physician offices and walk-in clinics. It is about as big as a large-screen smartphone, weighs 300 g, and can be held at any angle and brought directly to the patient’s finger for blood-sample application. An integrated bar-code scanner simplifies data capture for accurate calibration of new lot numbers prior to testing.

“The Xprecia Stride Coagulation Analyzer is among the most radical, user-friendly redesigns of a point-of-care coagulation analyzer since they became widely available more than 20 years ago,” David Stein, PhD, CEO of Siemens Diagnostics Point of Care Business Unit, said in a statement. “Our analyzer is designed to be safer, more efficient and more ergonomically friendly than the products available today. The Xprecia Stride Analyzer uses simple icons and animation in a color display more commonly found in smartphones than medical instruments.”