LDA Update Proposal

Proposed Work Item: Laboratory Device Automation (LDA)

Proposal Editor: John Hopson, Abbott Laboratories
Work Item Editor: John Hopson
Date: 04/28/2015, last updated 04/28/2015
Version: 1.0 (draft)
Domain: Clinical Laboratory
Status: LDA Update Proposal Spring 2015.

Summary

Communication between IVD analyzers and Laboratory Automation Systems (LAS) is an integral part of clinical laboratory operation. In the absence of any industry guidance, such communication is currently defined on an ad hoc basis. Implementers naturally turn to predecessor products for guidance. This approach causes similar interfaces to be re-created over-and-over, even though such interfaces share features with products from a variety of vendors. This proposed profile will enable laboratory systems and IVD analyzers to communicate in with standardized interfaces, reducing the design burden for both parties for new product interfaces.

The Problem

Current IVD analyzer vendors and Laboratory Automation Systems (LAS) vendors have little guidance on how to implement software interfaces between their sample transport systems and IVD analyzers. HL7 and CLSI AUTO3-A provide some direction, but do not provide specific guidance for individual LAS-to-analyzer workflows.