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RALS-Plus
Version 1.1 Point-of-Care Information Management Software
Released
Vendor-independent
system includes interfaces to Biosite and ITC Devices
Charlottesville,
VA
– March 1, 2002 –Medical
Automation Systems, Inc. (MAS; Charlottesville, VA) announces
the release of RALS-Plus Version 1.1 which includes
point-of-care information management interfaces to the
Biosite’s Triage MeterPlus and the HEMOCHRON® Response and
Jr. Signature coagulation devices from ITC.
RALS-Plus
is a vendor-independent information management system, that
manages the data from POCT devices throughout a hospital or
health system. The
consistent look and feel of each RALS-Plus screen, independent
of device, enhances usability and reduces training and support
issues. RALS-Plus
(version 1.0) was initially launched in April of 2001 and
included interfaces to Roche Diagnostic glucose devices,
including the AccuData GTS , Accu-Chek™ HQ and Accu-Chek™
Inform™, the Coaguchek ProDM™, Chemstrip 101™ and AVL OPTI
devices.
Biosite’s
Triage System, which is aimed at advancing diagnosis of critical
diseases, currently includes the Triage Cardiac System, the
Triage BNP Test, and the Triage TOX Drug Screen. The Triage
Cardiac System is a one-step whole blood test that aids in the
diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and provides
quantitative results of three cardiac markers, Myoglobin, CK-MB,
Troponin I in approximately 15 minutes.
The Triage BNP Test is the first blood test to be cleared
by the FDA, to aid in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure.
The test measures circulating levels of B-type natriuretic
peptide (BNP), a protein released during heart dysfunction. The
recently launched Triage TOX Drug Screen is a qualitative test
that enables hospital physicians to quickly and conveniently
perform toxicology screening for eight classes of commonly
abused drugs in urine. All the products operate on Biosite’s
second-generation meter, the Triage MeterPlus, which is a
portable, self-performing platform.
ITC
is the worldwide market leader in point-of-care coagulation
monitoring offering the HEMOCHRON Whole Blood Coagulation
systems. These
systems are designed to improve patient care by managing
anticoagulant drugs such as heparin and warfarin in clinical
arenas such as critical care, cardiovascular surgery and
interventional procedures and dialysis.
The HEMOCHRON Response uses whole blood to perform
coagulation tests such as the ACT, APTT, PT, fibrinogen and
thrombin time. It
also offers QC and operator lockout for enhanced regulatory
compliance. The
HEMOCHRON Jr. Signature Microcoagulation System performs rapid
and accurate ACT, APTT and PT tests within minutes, using only
one drop of whole blood. Both
systems can identify, store, date and time stamp, and print both
patient and quality control test results.
Liquid quality control and Electronic Quality Control (EQC)
are available.
“The
response from the market since first announcing plans to
integrate these devices into RALS-Plus has been extremely
positive,” says Greg Menke, chief executive officer and
president of Medical Automation Systems. “Both Biosite and ITC
are leaders in their respective application areas and their
customers have been demanding a single-system solution that can
manage all of their point-of-care tests,” he continued.
Peter
Burch, Biosite’s platform marketing director, presented at
Medical Automation’s year end national meeting and stated,
“Biosite is the market leader in POC cardiovascular testing.
Many of our larger accounts are made up of hospital
systems or multi-site hospitals that do a high volume of
point-of-care testing. Having
a multi-vendor solution like RALS-Plus to handle the vast amount
of data that is generated enables us to meet the needs of those
accounts.”
Guido
Manzo, Vice President for Worldwide Sales at ITC, indicated that
ITC remains committed to maintaining is leadership position and
providing customers added value and continuous improvement to
its systems in the areas of data management, connectivity, ease
of use, sample handling and volume, test menu, and emerging
needs such as operator and QC lock-out.
“The alliance with MAS and the availability of RALS-Plus
not only helps ITC to achieve it goals relative to data
management and connectivity, but also believes that customers
will benefit further due to its ‘open architecture’
design.”
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Medical
Automation Systems (www.medicalautomation.com/)
is the leading supplier of information management systems for
point-of-care testing with over 300 installations and 20,000+
connected devices throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The company's flagship product is RALS®-Plus (Remote
Automated Laboratory Systems), a multi-instrument,
vendor-independent information management system for POCT.
MAS products include RALS®-LIS, a standalone
connectivity solution that simplifies the LIS/HIS order and
result entry process, including automatic patient verification
via the RALS®-ADT capability.
RALS-LIS uses Direct (EDI) HL7, Terminal Emulation
(Scripted) and Windows™ Interfacing methods, is compatible
with all major LIS vendors as well as the company's RALS®-Plus
vendor-neutral information management system.
MAS is a charter and founding member of the Connectivity
Industry Consortium (CIC) which ensures that RALS products will
always reflect the latest in industry standards.
The company is privately held and is based in
Charlottesville, Virginia.
Since
its inception in 1988, Biosite Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSTE) has
been dedicated to meeting important clinical needs in emergency
medicine by speeding the flow of critical diagnostic
information. Through
its integrated discovery and diagnostics businesses, Biosite
seeks to develop rapid diagnostic tests that improve clinical
and economic outcomes for acute diseases. Biosite’s Triage®
products are used in 45 percent of U.S. hospitals and in 40
international markets. The Triage® Census™ Plus LIS Data
Management System is a valuable and cost-effective extension of
the company’s POC business. It provides hospital laboratory
personnel the tools they demand to effectively perform their
data management and billing functions in a timely manner.
Information on Biosite can be found at www.biosite.com.
Entering
the marketplace in 1969, ITC (www.itcmed.com)
has achieved brand name recognition of the HEMOCHRON®
whole blood coagulation products throughout the world by
offering superior quality products and value-added service.
HEMOCHRON instrument systems are used to manage hemostasis in
operating rooms, catheterization laboratories, critical care
units, anticoagulation clinics, dialysis centers and ECMO units.
In addition, the company is the technology leader in precision,
automated skin incision technology; manufacturing the Tenderlett®,
tenderfoot®, and Surgicutt® products for infant heel incision,
fingerstick and bleeding time measurements. These devices are
used throughout the hospital and physician offices.
The ProTime® Microcoagulation System monitors the effect
of oral anticoagulation with a simple to use instrument
available for the clinic and patient self testing. ITC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thoratec
Corporation.
Hemochron®,
Tenderlett®, Surgicutt® and ProTime®
are registered trademarks of Thoratec Corporation. RALS®,
RALS®-LIS, and RALS®-Plus and the MAS
logo are registered trademarks of Medical Automation Systems,
Incorporated.
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