Ardooie, Belgium

Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck
Ardooie, Belgium
Dominique Declerck, Lab Director
Sofie Arens, Clinical Biologist
The Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck is known for
its ability to provide clinicians with consistently
accurate results and impressive turnaround times.
However, Lab Director Dominique Declerck knows
that as a private laboratory, any drop in standards
could lead to samples being sent elsewhere for
analysis. As a result, he is focused on maintaining
excellent service levels – even in the face of ever
increasing sample volumes. Thanks to Roche, he
has the right equipment – and partner – to ensure
his laboratory’s reputation remains fully intact.
Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck, Ardooie, Belgium
• Private laboratory
• 4 million results per year
Planning for growth
Founded in 1994, the Klinisch Laboratorium
Declerck is a private laboratory that provides
routine analysis alongside a range of specialized testing for doctors across East and West
Flanders.
The lab currently receives up to 1200 samples
every day, which – with an average of 10 tests
requested per sample – equates to over 4
million tests every year. To help them deliver
this, they have 40 employees including 20 lab
technicians, 8 drivers for sample collection,
7 administrators and 3 part-time assistants.
Their success to date has been based on a simple promise – to provide doctors with the most accurate results in the
shortest possible time.
By investing in the latest technology they hope to be able to keep this promise, bringing workflow efficiencies and
high levels of quality control to everything that they do.
As Sofie Arens, Clinical Biologist, explains, this investment has been particularly significant in recent times:
“In the five years following 2005 we experienced serious growth of about
20%. This meant that in 2010 we had to renovate and expand our
laboratory. This period of investment gave us the opportunity to switch to
the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series and it’s one of the best decisions
we’ve made.”
“Switching to the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series as
a response to the lab’s rapid growth and the need to expand
and renovate is one of the best decisions we’ve made.”
Total system solutions
Prior to 2010, the laboratory had worked with a MODULAR
ANALYTICS <DP> configuration for clinical chemistry
and an <EE> configuration for immunochemistry testing.
While this setup had performed admirably – and allowed
the laboratory to build its reputation – it was clear that
something new was needed. Dominique Declerck, Lab
Director, explains:
“Given the 20% growth, we urgently needed more analytical
capacity so the MODULAR systems had to be changed.
Having worked in diagnostics for over 20 years I was aware
of the quality and reliability of Hitachi components so the
cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series seemed an obvious
choice, particularly with the high standard of reagents and broad menu available. The switch was so easy. We now
use a cobas® 8000 <701 2 | 502> configuration for our chemistry testing and a MODULAR <EEEE> configuration
for our immunochemistry testing.”
Alongside these modules, Mr. Declerck also took the opportunity to integrate the MODULAR® PRE-ANALYTICS
EVO (MPA) system which has helped to revolutionize sample management. Roche’s intelligent MPA system
automates all pre-analytical steps including centrifuging, decapping and aliquoting before transporting the
samples to connected clinical chemistry, immunochemistry and coagulation analyzers.
The laboratory had never used a pre-analytical system before which meant that a lot of time had been wasted
looking for samples and aliquots. With the MPA system in place, everything works smoothly and this has
contributed to creating a stress-free environment in the laboratory, as Mrs. Arens can testify:
“All of our primary tubes are handled by the MPA. It carries out the aliquoting for the entire laboratory and is a real
workhorse. During our peak time – between 13:45 and 16:15 – we need to process around 600 tubes but the MPA
has more than enough capacity to handle this volume.”
Speed is the key
The Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck not only invests in the latest
technology to generate results, but has also worked hard to find
the best way to communicate those results.
On an average working day they will receive about 1000 samples
at 15:00. By 18:00, the team will have analyzed all of these samples –
equating to around 10,000 results in three hours. At 19:00 they
receive another 200 samples, which are processed in ninety
minutes to meet a 20:30 deadline.
As soon as these results are available, all of the laboratory’s customers
can access them via the lab’s website, on their smartphones or
tablets. It is a special service that the Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck
offers and helps it to differentiate from its competitors.
“With the MPA system in place, everything works smoothly
and this has contributed to creating a stress-free
environment in the laboratory.”
With so many doctors and patients relying on this service, It is important that Mr. Declerck and his team are
working­as efficiently as possible, with exceptional quality control checks in place. That is where the strengths of
the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series shine through.
Two sample probes and four reagent probes ensure fast sample and reagent pipetting, which results in significantly
improved overall sample availability. It offers high-speed throughput too – ranging from 170 tests per hour up
to 8,400 tests per hour. Intelligent sample routing, with fast transportation and return lines, means that samples
always find the fastest way out, via shortcuts that are supported by special switch gates in each module. It also
means that emergency tests can be seamlessly integrated to improve sample turnaround times.
Quality and safety are also of paramount importance. Contact-free ultrasonic
mixing and disposable tips help to­minimize the potential for carryover and
reduce water consumption. In addition, Roche’s unique reagent cassettes­are
proven to be of the highest quality and combine with Hitachi reliability to ­create
genuine confidence in results. This is all backed up by cobas® e-services,
which offer automated reagent, calibrator and control downloads.
These benefits are clear to Mr. Declerck:
“With the MPA and cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series we only need three lab technicians to do all the work. It’s
such a robust solution and everything is so fast. It’s a real advantage not having a separate route for STAT samples –
they’re simply a part of the same workflow as our routine testing. We’ve also been able to build in some contingency
measures by mirroring our two high throughput cobas c 701 modules. This means that, if necessary, we can
immediately switch from one to the other without losing valuable time.”
Unique reagent concept provides
the perfect balance
Alongside the clear improvements in efficiency and quality, Roche’s innovative tailormade reagent cassettes
have brought a new level of flexibility to the testing capabilities at the Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck. The
­c assettes have been designed to help optimize workflow and cost management by delivering the ideal combination­
of size and on-board stability. This is particularly evident with the mid volume throughput cobas c 502 clinical
chemistry module.
With a capacity of up to 600 tests per hour and 60 reagent channels, the laboratory team use the cobas c 502
module to analyze specific proteins, perform therapeutic drug monitoring and offer drug of abuse testing. This
specialized service had previously created some logistical challenges but, with the new setup, these problems have
disappeared, as Mrs. Arens explains:
“The specialized tests are not carried out quite as frequently as the other tests
we perform so the smaller reagent cassettes provide the perfect mix between
fewer tests per cassette and optimized on-board stability. Because of the size
of the cassettes, a month’s supply of stock takes up much less room in our
cooling area allowing us to optimize the new space we have available.”
“The cassettes have been designed to help optimize workflow and cost management
by delivering the ideal combination of size and on-board stability.”
A flexible future
As Mr. Declerck and the team at the Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck continue to tailor their services to meet the
ever-changing needs of doctors across the region, they know that their equipment can grow with them too.
In the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series they have a platform that has been designed to reduce the complexity
of laboratory operation. They have seen the power of pre-analytics, experienced the flexibility of unique reagent
cassettes and have enjoyed a more relaxed working environment thanks to proven quality and safety features that
ensure reliable results.
It means they can look forward to tackling the challenges that their inevitable growth will bring – safe in the
knowledge that the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series will leave them ideally positioned to keep their promise
of providing doctors with the most accurate results in the shortest possible time.
“With Roche and the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series we have found
the ideal partner. One that understands our needs and is focused on
helping us deliver the highest standards of laboratory diagnostics.”
Klinisch Laboratorium Declerck
Ardooie, Belgium
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