Abaxis, a manufacturer of blood analysis systems, has donated six Vetscan VS2 point-of-care chemistry analyzers to support the care of animal patients at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH).
The chemistry analyzers will allow clinicians to complete blood chemistry analysis at the patient’s side in less than 12 minutes with the precision and accuracy of traditional clinical laboratory analyzers.
“We are looking forward to using this innovative tool for our patient care,” said Dr. Dean Hendrickson, Interim Director of the VTH. “The Vetscan system will be especially useful for the equine field service, exotics, and community practice, and will give our students the opportunity to do point-of-care testing, a skill essential to future veterinary practices.”
In addition to providing faster results, the Abaxis Vetscan system allows for successful testing on a 50 percent smaller blood sample, especially important for kittens, puppies and small exotics where the blood draw is limited.
The system consists of a compact portable analyzer and a series of single-use plastic discs, called reagent discs, that contain all the chemicals required to perform a panel of up to 13 tests on veterinary patients and 14 tests on human patients. The system can be operated with minimal training and performs multiple routine tests on whole blood, serum or plasma samples.
In addition to supporting the hospital with the Vetscan system donation, Abaxis also has pledged $200,000 to support facilities within the planned community practice wing of the hospital as part of the College’s South Campus Long-Range Development Plan.
“We are thankful for Abaxis’ support and are looking forward to a long relationship which will benefit our animal patients and our students,” said Dr. Lance Perryman, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Abaxis develops technology, tools and services that support best medical practices, enabling practitioners to respond to the health needs of their patients.
