Siemens scores FDA OK for portable coagulation analyzer

Siemens got an FDA nod for its handheld portable coagulation analyzer device. The news is a feather in the company’s cap as it looks to expand its healthcare business.

Regulators signed off on Siemens’ Xprecia Stride Coagulation Analyzer, a compact device that looks at Prothrombin Time International Normalized Ratio (PT/INR) to help doctors monitor patients and choose the correct treatment. The analyzer screens fingerstick blood samples to deliver results in minutes, the company said in a statement.

Siemens is quick to talk up the device’s advantages. Xprecia Stride is lightweight and about the same size as a smartphone. An integrated bar-code scanner helps collect data, and a strip eject button allows a user to easily toss out a used test strip.

“With the Xprecia Stride analyzer, Siemens Healthineers delivers on the promise to bring a safe and lab-accurate test directly to the patient,” Michael Sampson, SVP of Siemens Healthineers’ Point of Care business, said in a statement. “The Xprecia Stride analyzer is designed to be safe, efficient and ergonomically friendly. By adding the Xprecia Stride analyzer to our existing product portfolio in the U.S., we now have the ability to cover the full range of hemostasis testing from the hospital lab to the physician’s office.”

The regulatory blessing comes months after Siemens rebranded and pledged to beef up its healthcare business. In May, the company changed its name to Siemens Healthineers to underscore its commitment to engineering in healthcare.

"We have an exceptional track record of engineering and scientific excellence and are consistently at the forefront of developing innovative clinical solutions that enable providers to offer efficient, high quality patient care," Siemens Healthineers CEO Bernd Montag said at the time. "Our new brand is a bold signal for our ambition and expresses our identity as a people company."