ANGELHOLM, Sweden, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- HemoCue today presents an entirely new and unique single-analyte point-of-care testing system for determination of total white blood cell count. The test is so simple that it can be performed in any doctor’s office within minutes and will be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of bacterial infections. The new system will be on display at the upcoming American Association of Clinical Chemistry Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Chicago July 25-27.
The new point-of-care testing system for total White Blood Cell (WBC) count will be used to rapidly diagnose infections and will substantially improve quality in primary care. Instead of sending blood samples to a reference lab, the HemoCue WBC system will provide immediate and reliable results with the same precision and accuracy as a lab test, onsite and within minutes.
Since an increased total WBC count is typically seen in patients with bacterial infections, HemoCue WBC will assist physicians in the decision on whether to prescribe antibiotics or not. Today, over-prescription of antibiotics is a major concern resulting in an increasing number of bacterial strains being resistant to antibiotics.
“Our new point-of-care system for measuring total WBC will help physicians prescribe antibiotics to patients in need of it without unnecessary delay and to avoid prescribing it to patients where it has no effect,” says Stellan Lindberg, Director of R&D at HemoCue. “So far we have presented HemoCue WBC to a small number of experts at large central hospital laboratories and to physicians in primary care settings. They have all been very impressed by the simplicity and accuracy of our system.”
The HemoCue WBC system is based on HemoCue’s proven and reliable cuvette technology and is specifically designed for receiving a waived categorization under the federal government’s Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA). The system will be tested on a large scale in the beginning of next year by a number of clinics in Sweden and the US with an anticipated commercialization in the second quarter of 2007.
“A point-of-care system for the early detection and confirmation of an infection will be an important tool in the treatment of patients. As elevated levels of white blood cells are a typical sign of a bacterial infection, physicians now can assess patients and prescribe antibiotics more accurately,” says Dr. Sharon Ehrmeyer, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Medical Technology Program, University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
About HemoCue AB
HemoCue AB is a leader in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of advanced medical testing systems that bring lab quality results to the point-of-care. Its major products include hemoglobin, glucose, and urine-albumin testing systems. The fundamental concept behind the HemoCue products is the ability to perform common blood and urine tests at the point-of-care with the same accuracy and precision offered by a central clinical lab.
HemoCue is a Swedish based company acting globally and is owned by EQT, a leading private equity group in Northern Europe.
For additional information about HemoCue, or its products and services, visit http://www.hemocue.com
HemoCue AB
CONTACT: Annika Eriksson, Global Product Manager HemoCue WBC, +46 431 458316, or mobile, +46 733 457 316, aer@hemocue.se, or Stellan Lindberg,Director of R&D, +46 431 458 316, or mobile, +46 733 457 209,sli@hemocue.se, both of HemoCue AB
Web site: http://www.hemocue.com/
