APAS Independence heads to Europe

8 May 2018

After a successful introduction to the microbiology community at ECCMID 2018 in Madrid, Clever Culture Systems AG has shipped an APAS® Independence instrument to a key opinion leader laboratory in Germany. This is the first instrument shipped to an operational facility in the northern hemisphere.

Following an extensive review of the APAS® Independence in our facilities in Adelaide and at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, prestigious German facility Labor Dr Wisplinghoff in Cologne has commissioned its first APAS® Independence instrument.
Labor Dr Wisplinghoff is the largest clinical laboratory in Germany and one of the largest laboratories in Europe. Based in a newly completed purpose-built laboratory in Cologne, Labor Dr Wisplinghoff services hospitals and medical practices. The laboratory, founded in 1977, boasts over 40 medical specialists covering all relevant areas of clinical pathology including clinical microbiology and virology, clinical chemistry, toxicology, endocrinology, haematology, oncology, genetics, anatomical and molecular pathology and cytology.

Expanding into Europe is an important milestone to broaden the reach of the APAS® Independence. Brent Barnes, Board Director, Clever Culture Systems, said: “The placement of the instrument in Labor Dr Wisplinghoff, a globally recognised centre of excellence, gives the APAS® Independence a huge boost in credibility in Europe and progresses our commercialisation strategy. Clever Culture Systems is focused on ensuring a successful evaluation to leverage this experience into other laboratories in Germany and select EU markets. It will also kick start the European sales of the APAS® Independence in the near future.”

Dr Hilmar Wisplinghoff expanded on the collaboration, stating: “This collaboration is another example of Labor Dr Wisplinghoff employing the latest technology to deliver quality and timely results to our clients. We hope that this collaboration will further benefit our clients and their patients by bringing together our clinical expertise and the artificial intelligence of the APAS® Independence.”

Clever Culture Systems is working with Labor Dr Wisplinghoff to create a European APAS® Independence centre of excellence to test automation efficiency and clinical validation, in a similar way to the evaluation completed at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne in November 2017. This collaboration aims to extend the current menu of microbiology applications for the APAS® Independence and to investigate innovative ways to streamline workflows and drive efficiencies in the laboratory.