CASE STUDY
Differences in pneumatic tube system impact on blood samples emphasizes need for quality control
Hospitals in Austria, Germany, Sweden and Denmark · 400-2,400 Beds
Differences in pneumatic tube system impact on blood samples emphasizes need for quality control
“Each laboratory needs to measure and document the actual acceleration forces in their existing PTS, instituting quality target thresholds for these measurements... Acceleration is largely determined by the specifics of the PTS installation.”
- Nybo et al. 2017
Challenge
Every Pneumatic Tube System (PTS) installation is unique, which has impacts beyond sample turn-around-time. The manufacturer, number of zones in the hospital, canister design, sending speed, and individual twists and turns in the system all contribute to the overall experience of the samples during transit. Studies have independently shown the positive relationships of both speed and system length with resulting hemolysis (Nybo et al. 2017, Streichert et al. 2011). But in practice, how much does the uniqueness of a PTS installation affect the quality of blood samples that are being transported?
Solution
Motryx tested pneumatic tube systems in seven different hospitals in Europe with VitalQC to measure how differences in design and installation affect the quality of blood samples that are transported
Results
Across all hospitals, VitalQC measured PTS vibration that varied by >500%: a sample sent via PTS in one hospital experienced 18 times more total vibration compared to a sample sent in another hospital. The result? VitalQC expects hemolysis to be seven times more likely in the hospital with the highest vibration compared to the hospital with the lowest vibration.
This multi-institute comparison emphasizes the need for each system to be validated for the safe transport of specimens. No two systems are the same, and they can each be checked for risk of hemolysis with little to no blood.
PTS vibration varied
>500%
between hospitals
Hemolysis is
7x
more likely at the hospital with highest vibration
Samples experienced up to
18x
more vibration
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