Helena Biosciences says its AggRam platelet aggregometer has become an indispensable tool for one of the UK's top haemophilia and thrombosis centres
The Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre is an internationally-renowned tertiary referral unit, offering clinical and laboratory services for the diagnosis of a wide range of bleeding disorders and thrombotic problems.
The lab has been using Helena's AggRam, a four or eight-channel platelet aggregation and ristocetin cofactor analyser, since April 2007.
It boasts a number of unique features, including the ability to overlay up to 20 curves from previous tests onto the existing sample curve, allowing quick and efficient comparisons of patient results.
The AggRam software's data handling and analysis is fully-comprehensive, including in-depth analysis features such as rapid and automatic calculation of slope, time taken to maximum aggregation, lag phase and secondary slope.
Patient demographics can be entered either before or after the results have been produced and the AggRam supports a bi-directional Lims interface.
Quality control is implemented with a Levy-Jennings graphical display based on Westgard rules.
The instrument is also very compact, with the footprint the size of a hardback book.
Kampta Sukhu has been the lead biomedical scientist at the centre in Oxford since 1997.
He has worked in a number of leading laboratories throughout the UK since 1975, including eight years spent as the lead biomedical scientist of the haemostasis and thrombosis units at University College, London.
He said his staff had taken to Helena Biosciences's AggRam analyser because it was so simple to use.
He said: "We deal with so many samples that we needed an analyser that is quick and easy to use.
"Von Willebrand's disease affects around one per cent of the population and so we are working constantly to identify these problems.
"The AggRam's software is clear and simple to follow while the ability to add additional modules is useful.
"It is in daily use in our laboratory - all the staff have been able to use it as soon as they were shown how.
"We are currently using the AggRam for Ristocetin cofactor assays and also for platelet aggregation.
"We also make use of the half-volume settings - sometimes our blood samples are limited in quantity so it is important to be able to work with low volumes".
Helena Biosciences's technical sales specialist Andrew Simpson said: "This is a perfect illustration of why the AggRam is so appealing.
"It is a high performance analyser that comes with class-leading software, underlined by its integral role in laboratories such as the Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre." 
Kampta Sukhu of the Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre says AggRam is an important part of his lab
