Beckman Coulter Diagnostics & Life Sciences: An Overview

A Sketch of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics & Life Sciences

Beckman Coulter, Inc. is a manufacturing company with a long history.

Founded in 1935 by Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, Beckman Instruments, Inc. started off by selling the world’s first commercial pH meter, an invention of Dr. Beckman’s from the previous year. His pH meter was later considered to have revolutionized the study of chemistry and biology.

Two decades later, Joseph and Wallace Coulter would go on to find the second half of the Beckman Coulter company, the Coulter Corporation. Like Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, the Coulter brothers were inventors looking to advance life science.

Wallace H. Coulter’s first product, a commercial counter he designed himself, aptly named the Coulter Counter, used the Coulter principle, which he also developed. It later turned out to be the foundation of modern automated hematology.

After the acquisition of Coulter Corporation by Beckman Instruments, Inc. in 1997, the company adopted the name Beckman Coulter to honor all three founders.

In 2012, Danaher Corporation acquired Beckman Coulter and split the company into two operating companies: Diagnostics, headquartered in Brea, CA, and Life Sciences, headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics mainly deals with clinical diagnostic applications, while Beckman Coulter Life Sciences focuses on biotechnology products, such as its Biomek workstations, various flow cytometers, and Echo liquid handlers.

Beckman Coulter is a company built on innovation. It seeks to further the advancement of healthcare and scientific discoveries through groundbreaking research.

As a whole, Beckman Coulter, Inc. assists laboratory professionals in various fields by simplifying complex biomedical testing.

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Beckman Coulter Diagnostics Products

Beckman Coulter’s clinical diagnostics equipment and products provide clinical laboratories the tools they need to deliver insights more efficiently, improving on patient care.

In addition, its offerings cover a wide range of products to optimize the efficiency of your laboratory so that you can produce high-quality results quickly, at lower operational costs.

Automation

Beckman Coulter’s automation products emphasize workflow efficiency and productivity.

Automating your lab increases efficiency and affords your team the time to focus on other critical tasks or projects that need attention. Furthermore, automation solutions enable you to consistently deliver accurate results.

Beckman Coulter’s latest automation system, the DxA5000, is designed to improve your laboratory’s performance, turnaround time, and productivity with a number of preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical features.

Clinical Chemistry

Beckman Coulter offers a variety of scalable clinical chemistry analyzers that help standardize lab processes. These features include standardized test menus, assay protocols, instrument processes, and reference ranges that reduce operator variation and provide consistent quality results. Beckman Coulter’s chemistry analyzers focus on providing maximum value while lowering total cost of ownership.

The DxC 700 AU is a clinical chemistry analyzer that combines the intuitive nature of the DxC series and the reliability you can experience from the AU line. It is the latest in a line of reliable chemistry systems for mid- to high-volume labs. The resulting product is a chemistry analyzer that’s easy to use with robust throughput capabilities of up to 80 photometric (or 1200 with ISE) tests per hour.

Blood banking

Beckman Coulter’s immunohematology and blood group testing analyzers give blood banks easy access to an efficient testing workflow, with a throughput rate high enough to meet the needs of high-volume donor centers.

The PK7400, an automated microplate system, offers a comprehensive assay menu for blood testing, and can analyze 300 samples per hour with a capacity of 120 samples. If your main concerns are improving efficiency, increasing throughput, and streamlining workflow, the PK7400 can deliver. Its features simplify and enhance donor testing analysis capabilities.

Clinical centrifugation

The clinical centrifugation instruments from Beckman Coulter focus on the speed and efficiency of your sample separation process. The StatSpin 3 centrifuge can hold up to eight tubes, all of which have a volume capacity of 10 ml, and produces high-quality results within five minutes.

Clinical information management

Beckman Coulter also provides a centralized information management system and network to ensure your instruments can collaborate efficiently. By using an information middleware like the DxONE Suite for your laboratories, you can make more informed decisions, standardize your processes, and streamline your inventory.

Hematology

Their range of hematology analyzers, instruments, and systems offer comprehensive hematology solutions, allowing you to optimize your clinical laboratory operations and improve patient care significantly. The UniCel DxH Connected WorkCell Solution lets you connect up to 3 DxH 900 hematology analyzers and a DxH Slidemaker Stainer II to form a scalable workstation for your growing testing needs.

By forming a connected network, you can modernize your processes and leverage advanced analytics in order to achieve better test results. In other words, an integrated system opens up new automation options, ultimately leading to a more efficient workflow with high-quality results.

Immunoassay

Beckman Coulter’s immunoassay analyzers are used to identify and detect the concentration of specific substances in a sample, typically using an antibody as a reagent. The UniCel DxI 600 Access Immunoassay System, a high-throughput system designed around the DxI 600 immunoassay analyzer, offers a scalable mechanism for your medical laboratory.

It can run 40,000-80,000 tests per year and 200 tests per hour, allowing your medium- to high-volume lab to meet the ever-growing demand for assays.

Microbiology

Beckman Coulter divides its microbiology into four sub-categories.

  • MicroScan ID/AST panels
  • Microbiology systems
  • Informatics
  • Microbiology automation

The integrated DxM Trio ID and AST Solution is an integrated system that combines the trusted detection of the DxM MicroScan WalkAway, the rapid identification of the Bruker MALDI Biotyper, and convenience of the powerful software solution, LabPro-MBT. Expect accurate, rapid, and efficient processes for ID and AST testing when you utilize this Beckman Coulter product.  

Protein chemistry

If your lab focuses on bioinformatics and you have an interest in protein chemistry analysis, Beckman Coulter provides high-performance equipment that delivers fast and accurate results with robust flexibility.  

One such analyzer, the IMMAGE 800, is a protein chemistry analyzer using innovative technologies to deliver an accurate analysis of a specific protein, detect therapeutic drugs, and allow for high-sensitivity assays.

Urinalysis

Urinalysis is used to detect and manage a wide range of disorders, from urinary tract infections to kidney disease and diabetes. The urinalysis analyzers by Beckman Coulter aim to lessen your manual workload by introducing automation features, further reducing your team’s need for manual microscopic review and sample handling.

One of its products, the iRICELL Series Urinalysis Workcell is a fully automated, walk-away instrument. It uses Auto-Particle Recognition (APR) to automate your urinalysis and body fluid testing.

Beckman Coulter Diagnostic Solutions

Beckman Coulter also offers a range of diagnostic solutions to help you diagnose common and urgent healthcare problems quicker. With access to custom solutions that your laboratory needs to diagnose specific health issues, you’ll be able to improve your efficiency and patient care.

Additional custom solutions for your laboratory include innovative assays, biomarkers, additional clinical diagnostic systems, and professional services.

Furthermore, Beckman Coulter contributes to managing the recent coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic by providing antibody and antigen testing solutions.

Currently, Beckman Coulter offers innovative solutions in the following categories:

  • Sepsis Diagnosis and Management
  • Anemia
  • Drug Monitoring and Detection
  • Prostate Cancer Detection
  • Life Sciences
  • Reproductive Health
  • Detecting UTIs
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • More recently: COVID-19

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, part of Danaher company as well, focuses on healthcare through discovery, research and more. The company is able to support advances in science through discovery, empowering scientists with state-of-the-art life science equipment and providing solutions for life science research through product support, training, and more.

From instruments, reagents, and software to supplies, parts, and accessories, Beckman Coulter’s Life Sciences division offers a wide variety of products.

Instruments

Beckman Coulter’s instrument catalog includes essential equipment for any research lab, from cell counters and sizers to automated liquid handling to genomic solutions. Their catalog includes:

  • Particle counters for environmental monitoring
  • Cell counters, sizers, and media analyzers
  • Centrifuges
  • Flow cytometers
  • Integrated solutions
  • Automated liquid handling solutions
  • HIAC liquid particle counters
  • Microbioreactors
  • Particle size analyzers
  • Total organic carbon (TOC) analyzers
  • Genomic Solutions

Partner with Excedr

Beckman Coulter emphasizes ease of use and workflow efficiency. Each product they manufacture promises quality results, fast processes, and lower operating costs. The automation features included in most of Beckman Coulter’s products are an excellent fit for medium- to high-volume laboratories.

Its integrated system tools promise scalable growth, allowing you to prepare for your increasing testing needs. Beckman Coulter is an excellent option if you prioritize the efficiency and scalability of your workflows.

Partnering up with Excedr can get you all of these things—at a lower price.

By leasing your instruments, you eliminate the enormous upfront cost needed to access high-end, cutting-edge technology necessary in today’s competitive global life science market. Ready to get the best lab equipment without the hefty price tag? Contact us to learn more about Excedr’s leasing program.

When you join our program, you can gain access to the latest in advanced life sciences laboratory equipment—from automated liquid handlers, centrifuges, and flow cytometers, to numerous analytical equipment, including clinical chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, automated blood banking, and immunohematology analyzers—all at significantly lower upfront costs.

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