- Preliminary study of ambulances equipped with Samsung LABGEO IB10 receives NACB Distinguished Abstract Award
 
HOUSTON, TX. – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. will present details of the first peer reviewed report of a groundbreaking pilot conducted with the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland, Borders General Hospital, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), and the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare (SCTT) on the use of the Samsung LABGEO IB10 portable blood analyzer to diagnose cardiac patients in transit to hospital. The clinical abstract on this pilot study received a National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) Distinguished Abstract Award and will be presented in the Point-of-Care Testing Session on Wednesday, July 31st at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) meeting in Houston, TX. Samsung will also be exhibiting its latest innovations for in-vitro diagnostics at booth 4765 from July 28 to August 1.
 
Conducted in the sparsely populated Scottish Borders, the pilot sought to demonstrate the feasibility of diagnosing whether chest pain patients were suffering from a heart attack or angina using the portable Samsung LABGEO IB10 in ambulances to test for troponin, a cardiac marker indicating damage to the heart muscle. In a sample of over 100 patients presenting chest pain, the in-transit testing resulted in a mean reduction of 2.5 hours in the average time to obtaining first troponin results when compared with waiting until arrival at the hospital, enabling more effective care and potentially saving lives.
 
Professor George Crooks, Medical Director at the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24’s Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare, said: “The initial results are very encouraging and demonstrate that such tests can be successfully undertaken by paramedics in ambulances. We are looking at how this can be rolled out across Scotland.”
 
Scottish Health Secretary, Alex Neil, stated: “This is an excellent example of a partnership working and is set to help even more patients and save lives. Allowing clinicians to identify an appropriate course of treatment before the patient even arrives at hospital can be crucial.”
 
Utilized in the pilot, the Samsung LABGEO IB10 is a highly portable immunoassay system weighing just 2.4kg that is capable of measuring from 1 to 3 cardiac biomarkers on a single 500 μL whole blood aliquot in approximately 20 minutes. The LABGEO IB10 is currently available in Europe, with plans to expand into other markets in due course.
 
“Samsung is thrilled to participate in this innovative pilot demonstrating the potential for mobile in-vitro diagnostic technology to provide faster treatment and save lives,” said S. I. Cho, President and Head of the Health & Medical Equipment Business at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to further exploring applications for the Samsung LABGEO devices with providers looking for a fast, accurate and portable blood diagnostics solution. This is part of Samsung’s long-term commitment to improving healthcare and providing innovative, life-saving solutions.”
 
The abstract on the pilot – authored by Dr. Barry Bluestein and entitled “Evaluation of Point of Care (POC) Pre-hospital Testing for Troponin I (cTnI) while in Hospital Transit via the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) - a Preliminary Study using the Samsung LABGEO IB10 Analyzer” – is published in the AACC Annual Meeting supplement.

Source: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.