Industry-leading iQ200 urine microscopy and AUTION MAX™ AX-4030 urine chemistry technology offer scalable, harmonized solution to meet customer needs
BREA, Calif. and EDINA, Minn. — (July 27, 2018) —
Beckman Coulter and U.S. ARKRAY, Inc. (ARKRAY) announced a new partnership and the launch of the iQ Urinalysis Workcell. The iQ Workcell pairs two of the world’s most highly regarded automated urine analyzers: the Beckman Coulter Iris iQ200 Digital Flow Morphology system and the ARKRAY AUTION MAX AX-4030 fully automated urine analyzer. This total urinalysis offering will be available in the U.S. exclusively through Beckman Coulter. Beckman Coulter will also offer both the ARKRAY AUTION MAX AX-4030 and the ARKRAY AUTION ELEVEN™ AE-4022 analyzers as stand-alone solutions, reinforcing Beckman Coulter’s commitment to offering scalable solutions for high-, mid-, and low-volume laboratory needs.
This partnership will allow both companies to better meet the needs of their growing customer bases. ARKRAY has a long-standing history with over 40 years’ experience in urine chemistry and is a pioneer of diagnostic products. ARKRAY’s reliable urine chemistry analyzers and test strips provide one of the broadest reporting ranges. The expanded ranges will allow U.S. customers to report additional clinically relevant data. Further, harmonized urine chemistry strips across the semiautomated and fully automated AUTION products offer an excellent complement to the powerful auto-particle recognition on Beckman Coulter’s iQ platform.
"Beckman Coulter's partnership with ARKRAY allows us to build on our more than 30-year heritage of simplifying the urinalysis workflow and meeting our customers’ growing needs. The iQ Workcell combines our world-class Digital Flow Morphology imaging particle analysis with ARKRAY’s robust and reliable urine chemistry analyzer. This, in conjunction with the AUTION ELEVEN AE-4022, allows us to provide a scalable, harmonized portfolio in the United States," stated Peter Soltani, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager of the hematology and urinalysis business at Beckman Coulter.
"We are excited to partner our best-in-class urine chemistry products with the market leader in urinalysis. This partnership integrates our urine chemistry solutions with Beckman Coulter’s urine particle analysis systems in the United States. Through this partnership with Beckman Coulter, ARKRAY can respond to the market demand to pair AUTION chemistry with sediment solutions. This combination of a fully automated urinalysis solution combined with a backup solution and standardized test strips deliver continuity within laboratory networks," said Shane Hawes, ARKRAY general manager.
The new iQ Workcell is a scalable solution that will be offered in three configurations—iQ 3000, 2000 and 1500 Workcells—to meet laboratories’ workflow needs. Beckman Coulter’s proprietary Digital Flow Morphology process auto-classifies 12 particle types with 27 sub-categories and reduces subjectivity during data analysis. The ARKRAY urine chemistry strips have broad measuring ranges for expanded clinical utility. The ARKRAY AUTION ELEVEN AE-4022 semiautomated urine chemistry analyzer is an ideal backup or stand-alone option for laboratories as urine chemistry results are harmonized across all platforms within the partnership’s portfolio.
The iQ Workcell will be available for sale exclusively through Beckman Coulter in the United States starting July 31, 2018. Beckman Coulter will continue to offer and support the iChemVELOCITY urinalysis instrument outside the U.S. and will continue to provide service, parts and consumables within the U.S.
ARKRAY will continue to offer standalone AUTION MAX AX-4030 and AUTION ELEVEN AE-4022 analyzers in the U.S. and deliver service, parts and consumables for the entire AUTION urinalysis product line, including the AUTION HYBRID™ AU-4050 instrument.