Roche, the world’s largest biotech company, recently announced that the new cobas c 513 analyzer, a dedicated high-throughput testing solution for HbA1c, is now available for countries that accept the CE mark.
HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin; it develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, joins with glucose in the blood becoming ‘glycated’. The HbA1c measure helps in risk identification, diagnosis and monitoring of people with diabetes. The cobas c 513 analyzer is based on the trusted and proven cobas technology developed by Roche in partnership with Hitachi High-Technologies (HHT), and is a system that runs the established Tina-Quant HbA1c A1cDx Gen.3 test.
“The increasing number of people with diabetes is challenging healthcare providers and is putting a significant strain on healthcare systems,” said Roland Diggelmann, COO, Roche Diagnostics. “With the cobas c 513, Roche is meeting the dedicated and growing testing needs of our customers.”
The new device will replace Roche’s COBAS INTEGRA 800 CTS, the current HbA1c analyzer. The new analyzer further improves the efficiency in the laboratory by doubling the INTEGRA 800 CTS from 200 to 400 patient results hourly, offering a higher on-board test capacity. Roche reported that the cobas c 513 provides parallel robust performance and direct results reporting, thus reducing the peril of result misreading and removing the need to conduct lengthy manual interpretation of the results. This not only saves time and lab resources, but also ensures high quality results.
According to a recent press release, the new cobas c 513 technology also offers closed tube sampling, thus reducing hands-on time, avoiding the contamination of samples and ensuring the safety of lab personnel and operators.
Currently, more than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, compared to the previous estimate of 26 million in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in four people with diabetes are unaware of their condition.
It is estimated that 86 million adults – more than one in three U.S. adults – have prediabetes, where their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15 percent to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.
