Immucor Launches I-TRAC Plus System to Prevent Transfusion Errors
Tuesday November 9, 2:36 pm Eastern Time
First Data Collection and Tracking System That 'Closes the Loop' in The Transfusion Process
ATLANTA, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Immucor, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUD - news), a leading provider of blood bank reagents and automated blood bank testing instruments, today announced the launching of its I-TRAC Plus System, the first verification and tracking system utilizing PalmPilot(TM) technology designed to prevent errors in the blood transfusion process. The I-TRAC System allows health care providers to ensure that transfusion patients receive blood intended for them.
''I-TRAC Plus is the first system that focuses on improving the complete transfusion administration process,'' said Edward L. Gallup, president and chief executive officer. ''Many companies have been working on analytical techniques to increase laboratory efficiency but, until I-TRAC Plus, there has been little emphasis placed on the issues surrounding the blood administration process.''
I-TRAC was developed after Immucor, when conducting market research for other products, identified a need for management of the transfusion process at health care facilities. To make the transfusion process safer, Immucor and Healthcare-ID, Inc., worked together to develop the I-TRAC Plus System using a comprehensive approach to information management.
Immucor's solution to the ongoing problem of transfusion errors is the I-TRAC Plus System which incorporates PalmPilot(TM) portable data terminals and barcode tracking and verification technology, with automated blood bank testing and standardized information management procedures. The ''closed loop'' tracking system identifies each patient using barcoded wristbands; uniquely tags each patient specimen using barcoded labels produced at the bedside; automates pre-transfusion testing of ABO/Rh, antibody screening and crossmatch utilizing one of Immucor's family of automated systems; verifies the correct patient has been selected to receive a blood component before administration; and prints a transfusion report at the bedside.
Current blood administration processes are vulnerable to mistakes due to human error, which can result in patients receiving blood intended for someone else-sometimes with fatal results. FDA statistics show that 49% of deaths associated with blood collection or transfusion are caused by improperly controlled blood administration. The I-TRAC Plus System can significantly reduce blood transfusion errors resulting from misidentification of patient or blood component.
In an abstract presented at the 1999 American Association of Blood Banks meeting in San Francisco this week, officials from Georgetown University Medical Center cited I-TRAC Plus as providing complete security for the transfusion process in 100% of the events analyzed. Also, Georgetown has found that the product eliminates the need for a second nurse to be present at the time of transfusion thus improving the implementation time and cost associated with the actual transfusion event.
As part of the process, Immucor's ABS2000 fully automated analyzer can perform patient pre-transfusion testing. The LIS system, or Immucor's Immulabel program, creates a barcoded administration label to be affixed to the blood component, which includes a barcoded patient name and medical record number. The Portable Data Terminal Software, developed by Healthcare-ID, contains transfusion verification capabilities that ensure proper specimen identification before collection, facilitate positive identification of the patient and blood component before transfusion using electronic verification, and print a transfusion report, all at the bedside.
Immucor, Inc. is currently the largest blood bank reagent manufacturer in North America, and sells the only fully automated, FDA cleared transfusion diagnostics device on the market. Immucor provides a family of automated systems that address the processing needs of hospital blood banks, reference laboratories and donor centers of all sizes. Extensive information about Immucor, its products and their applications is available at immucor.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements concerning the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Further risks are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE: Immucor, Inc. |
