Abbott Diagnostics: CELL-DYN SMS™ –
Automated Blood Film Preparation System

Client

Abbott Diagnostics

Product

CELL-DYN SMS

Awards

Winner Engineering Excellence AusIndustry Innovation Prize.

Background

Stained blood smears are microscopically examined as an aid to diagnosing general infections and blood related disorders such as leukemia and anemia.

Our Ingenuity

We worked closely with our client to design, develop and manufacture a sophisticated diagnostic instrument enabling blood samples to be taken from closed specimen tubes and automatically smeared across slides. In addition, the instrument printed patient ID's on each slide for easy identification.

An integrated team of scientists, engineers and manufacturing experts developed the CELL-DYN SMS, automating all aspects of blood film preparation, combining proven wedge-smear technology with the flexibility of 10 user-definable staining protocols.

Following development the instrument was transferred to our in-house manufacturing facility. For more than 13 years, our ongoing manufacturing and sustaining engineering support has included:

• Design upgrades, including new feature addition
• Ongoing product technical knowledge and support
• Product lifecycle support including proactive obsolescence planning
• Understanding, and proactively implementing, regulatory changes through the manufacturing process
• Adapting our production team and facilities to accommodate fluctuating production volumes over time

Major challenges included:

• Achieving damage free high quality blood smears
• Meeting rigorous requirements for minimum carryover between patient samples
• Designing fluidics to achieve high throughput sample processing

Your Advantage

Invetech are the sole developer and manufacturer of the world's first automated Slide Maker/Stainer.
Our continued manufacturing assistance over 13 years has ensured the instrument's reliability in the consistent production of high-quality blood films.