Does anyone know what happened to the AvoSure tester? Has anybody used one?

[Protimenow]

I'm doing a bit of research here, and I'm hoping some of the old-timers might have an answer.

There's a meter called the AvoSure PT+, developed by a company called Avocet Medical. The meter was CLIA waived, and apparently FDA approved for Prothrombin Time Testing. The Avocet site says the device was acquired by Beckman Coulter.

There was no date on the site stating when the device was acquired.

Has anyone used this device? It looks kind of like a CoaguChek S or XS, except that the area where the strip goes snaps down over the strip (I think).

Does anyone know anything about this meter? Was it bought so it could be killed (reducing the amount of competition)? Was it bought for the technology (so a better meter could be built)? Was it bought, and just didn't meet the requirements of Beckman Coulter, so it wasn't released?

Does anybody know?

(I have a CoaguChek S, and an AvoSure meter that I got out of curiosity -- I'm considering, before my strips expire, inserting the code chip CoaguChek S into the meter to see what happens.)

(Yes, I have a historical interest in the earlier meters)

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Protimenow]

I've learned a little more about this mystery meter. It was FDA Approved and CLIA certified. Beckman Coulter acquired it in January 2002. Their press release said that they planned to market it later that year.

I don't know if anyone else is interested in this - but it could, potentially, have been a competitor to the other three brands (InRatio, CoaguChek, ProTime). I'm still trying to get more information about what happened to it after 2002 -- there ARE a few meters out there, but I suspect that there either aren't any strips available, or the meters just aren't available in the United States.

If anyone knows any more than this about the AvoSure meters, I'd sure like to hear it.

 

[Eva]

There is an email address in the below link you can send questions you have about this meter : http://www.pointofcare.net/vendors/avocet.htm

Here is and address and telephone no. of the maker of these meters: Avocet Medical Inc

Company Addresses: 100 Great Oaks Boulevard, San Jose, CA 95119-1456
Company Phones: (408) 574-7855

http://www.spoke.com/info/cHSn8/AvocetMedicalInc

I like to know what is happening too! None of the articles I came across was clear!

 

[Protimenow]

Thanks for checking, Eva.

I went to those sites, which were apparently old postings sitting out on the Internet, but the final sites of most relevance were the main Avocet site: http://www.avocetmedical.com/, and the press release from the company that bought the rights to the device: http://www.beckmancoulter.com/hr/pressroom/oc_pressReleases_detail.asp?Key=2846&pf=1 . Beckman Coulter is apparently the owner of the tester and doesn't seem to have brought it out to market.

I've sent an inquiry to the public relations department at Beckman Coulter, but haven't heard back from them yet.

Beckman Coulter is a huge company, and perhaps they decided that the field was already too crowded (with three meters already on the market), to switch their attention to the anticoagulation monitoring market. I'm just guessing.

I'll share what I learn when/if Beckman Coulter gets back to me.

 

[ShezaGirlie]

The date I found on this article is January 2005..

http://www.medcompare.com/spotlight.asp?spotlightid=91

 

[Protimenow]

Thanks for the link.

I was contacted by the current owner of the AvoSure and they told me that they're looking into what happened to the device. (My hope is that they'll tell me more than 'we aren't making it,' and shed some light on the reasons why)

 

[Eva]

I hope you will hear the news you want to hear :smile2:

 

[Protimenow]

I have no idea WHAT I want to hear - except what happened to the product. I appreciate your message, though.

When I learn what happened to this techology (IF I hear anything), I'll share it here.

 

[QAS Lance]

When the Avocet meter went out of business, years ago, we replaced them with competitive units, which at the time were ProTime and Coaguchek classic. I worked for QAS for ten years, and remember the chaos involved! It was similar to the Lifescan Harmony device, which also was removed from market but not "out of business" like the Avocet meter. The Lifescan meter was a division of Johnson and Johnson, if I remember correctly. Brings up old memories!

 

[Gail in Ca]

My 1st machine was the avocet. The drawback to it was that it had no internal check system. I had to crack 2 ampules and run a meter self check using a strip. That's what I recall, anyway. It was a hassle, so often I wouldn't perform the check, and I just tested myself many times without checking that the machine was working properly. So, it was probably a good thing when it went out of business, and I got a protime monitor. I liked that it was small compared to the protime.

 

[Protimenow]

Great info. I was hoping that some here had a history (whatever kind) with the meter.

I still haven't heard back from the current owner, but from what Gail described, it sounded like a potential quality control nightmare.

 

[bvostok]

Has anybody used one?

I can remember the AvoSure device from my anticoagulation training at Munich university hospital back in 2001!
We were taught on the CoaguChek S and the AvoSure-device, which was very new on German market and just had passed certification… I can remember that most of the participants preferred the AvoSure-device, because it was more compact than CoaguChek S and thus more suitable for journeys. Another advantage mentioned by the docs is, that it requires less amount of blood (than CoaguChek S) for the test to work. Still, I went for CoaguChek S, because to me AvoSure looked quite “cheap” and I did not trust an to me unknown brand. Looking back it was the right decision, as soon it was discontinued... My CoaguChek S has worked without any technical problems during the past almost 10 years and it still runs!

Back to AvoSure, I only now did a research on it (and found this forum), because it is mentioned on my certificate which we received after the seminar in
2001. Now needed that paper, because here Roche is now discontinuing to manufacture test stripes for the S-device and so I must show some
proof to health-insurance that I can handle such kind of devices to receive a new one… Wondering what happened to all those guys who
bought AvoSure and then maybe 1 year later it was taken from the market and support stopped for it.
Anyway, looking forward to my new CoaguChek XS I will hopefully receive soon...
Greetings from Germany!