'Sixty Seconds on Haemostasis' interview

Sixty Seconds on Haemostasis

Dr. Chris Gardiner (Senior Research fellow at the formerly Haemostasis Research Unit (HRU) at UCLH, London, UK) along with colleagues at HRU-UCLH, performed a performance evaluation of chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassays (CLEIA) on the new Sysmex CN-6500 haemostasis analyser. In July this year, Dr, Gardiner presented his findings for testing Haemostatic and Fibrinolytic Activation Markers and their potential Clinical Utility in COVID-19 Patients on the CN-6500 system.

Krishna Ram - Hi Dr. Gardiner, firstly thank you for taking the time for this 60 second interview. How are you? You’re back in the lab, working in Leeds… Dr. Gardiner - It’s been a busy few months, I moved from Buckinghamshire to West Yorkshire in June. I’m still settling in, but I’ve taken every opportunity to explore the Yorkshire Dales. Yes, I started work in the specialist coagulation lab at St James’ University Hospital in July. Krishna Ram - Have you missed lab-life and do you miss working with Sysmex analysers in Haemostasis? Dr. Gardiner - It’s good to be back in a clinical lab at the sharp end of things. It’s the first time I have worked in a haemophilia comprehensive care centre. I’ve learned new assays, with different analysers and I’m still getting to grips with the IT system, so the last few weeks have been a steep learning curve but never dull. Krishna Ram - Having now worked with Sysmex haemostasis analysers for many years, from the CA-Series to the CS-Series and now the CN-Series, do you think the advancement in technology and software on the CN-Series meets the current and future needs of haemostasis laboratories? Dr. Gardiner - Yes – the CN-Series certainly delivers a very wide assay range with high throughput and in a small package. Maintenance, data backups, QC and calibration procedures are much faster and more straightforward with the CN-Series, so there is very little downtime at the start of the day. The CN software and touch screen technology is also very user-friendly. Krishna Ram - With your experience working with the CN-6500, what key analyser features stood out most for you? Dr. Gardiner - The ability to perform routine testing and specialist assays simultaneously, without a significant drop in throughput. The CN-6500 incorporates two components; Coag Function, and Immuno Function testing that work independently of one another, to maintain high workflow from the analyser overall. Krishna Ram - In your open-access published article, “A performance evaluation of chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassays on the Sysmex CN-6500 haemostasis analyser” your study evaluated assays for: soluble thrombomodulin (TM), thrombin-antithrombin (TAT), tissue plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 complex (tPAIC) and plasmin α2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC). Do you see there being a clinical need or interest in these assays for haemostasis service providers in the NHS? Dr. Gardiner - In time, I can see these assays providing useful information in patients with severe COVID-19, sepsis and atypical DIC, to facilitate personalised medicine for these patients. These assays also have potential applications in cancer medicine. The benefit with the CN-6500 is the ability to automatically perform classical haemostasis assays alongside these CLEIA assays; TM, TAT, tPAI-C and PIC from a single citrate sample tube. Krishna Ram - What makes the CN-6500 analyser stand-out against other automated CLEIA systems and traditional immunoassays? Dr. Gardiner - The wide analytical measurement ranges, reproducibility for all the assays, along with the ease of use of the software and sample processing speed of the CN-6500. The time taken to analyse PT, APTT, Fib and D-dimer while simultaneously performing the four CLEIA tests on the same sample was 23 minutes and 30 seconds. This is a saving of many hours based on ELISA methodology for these four CLEIA assays. The integration of chemiluminescence detection on to a main line haemostasis analyser has achieved excellent comparability of the CN-6500 against the predicate HISCL-5000 system, a fully automated rapid immunochemistry analyser. Comparability of TM, TAT, PIC and tPAI-C in 230 clinical plasma samples between the CN-6500 and HISCL-5000 analysers.

Comparability of TM, TAT, PIC and tPAI-C in 230 clinical plasma samples between the CN-6500 and HISCL-5000 analysers.

Krishna Ram - Thank you for your time and sharing your experience of the CN-6500. Dr. Gardiner - My pleasure, thank you.