Clinical laboratories need to test patient samples precisely, accurately, and efficiently. The latest member of the Roche cobas modular platform family, the cobas 8000 modular analyzer series allows compact and convenient consolidation of clinical chemistry and immunochemistry assays in high-workload laboratories with a throughput of 3 to 15 million tests annually. Here we present the results of studies designed to test the overall system performance under routine-like conditions that were conducted at 14 laboratories over 2 y. Experiments that test analytical performance of the new module were integrated with overall system functionality testing of all modules in different configurations. More than two million results were generated and evaluated for ~100 applications using serum/plasma, urine, or EDTA blood samples. During the workflow studies, eight configurations of the possible 38 combinations were used, covering all available analytical modules. The versatility of the module combinations makes the system customizable to fit the needs of diverse laboratories, allowing precise and accurate analysis of a broad spectrum of clinical chemistry and immunochemistry parameters with short turnaround times. This new system will contribute to the ability of clinical laboratories to offer better service to their customers and support vital clinical decision making.
Keywords: analytical modules; analytical performance; analyzers; practicability assessment; workflow analysis.