Roche received the European CE Mark and is releasing two new fully automated molecular testing systems for screening donor blood and plasma, viral load monitoring, and other uses . The cobas 6800/8800 devices are the fastest and have the greatest throughput of any available comparable system. Additionally, it has the longest “walk-away time,” which lets staff focus on other things while the machines are cranking away.
The systems use PCR technology that provides results on 96 tests within 3.5 hours. The higher throughput 8800 system can do 960 tests within eight hours, while the smaller 6800 does 384. Once the tests are prepped, the technicians can walk away until results come in at the end of the shift.
From Roche:
The portfolio launched today includes the cobas 6800 and 8800 Systems, the cobas p 680 instrument to support the creation of donor sample pools, and three next-generation assays for donor screening: cobas® MPX, cobas WNV and cobas HEV. In Q4, a next-generation cobas DPX test will be released to complete the donor screening menu. The systems menu will continue to expand beyond blood donor screening, including multiple tests for viral load monitoring. The cobas 6800/8800 Systems are now available in all markets accepting the CE mark in Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Systems are not currently available in the United States.
Product page: cobas 6800/8800 systems…