News & Topics

Jun 13, 2008

Medical support dispatched for the China/Sichuan Earthquake.

ARKRAY, Inc (Head Office: Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; President & CEO: Shigeru Doi) has dispatched technical engineers to the site of the Sichuan Earthquake in China where they provided medical support for the maintenance and management of the health of casualties. In addition, ARKRAY has completed the supply of medical test equipment and specialized reagents free of charge to the affected area.

ARKRAY, Inc (Head Office: Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; President & CEO: Shigeru Doi) has dispatched technical engineers to the site of the Sichuan Earthquake in China where they provided medical support for the maintenance and management of the health of casualties. In addition, ARKRAY has completed the supply of medical test equipment and specialized reagents free of charge to the affected area.

1.Background of the aid effort

Hospitals have collapsed in the area and are unable to provide patient care, so temporary field clinics have been set up. However, the medical devices in these field clinics are focused upon first aid only and do not answer the needs of the patients in terms of health maintenance.

ARKRAY is providing automatic clinical chemistry analyzers and automatic urinalysis devices for the diagnosis of conditions such as dehydration and kidney damage. In addition technicians will stay in the hospitals and provide training on the usage and maintenance of these devices. From Monday, 9 June hospital staff have begun touring the field clinics and providing them with analyzers.

2.Dispatch period and area of activity

From Friday 30 May 2008 until Thursday 5 June 2008
Support has already been completed at Chengdu-Junqu General Hospital as well as temporary field clinics.
Support is not limited to just the supply of products. Technical staff provided training to test-technicians and conducted follow-up training for the prevention of incorrect device usage.

3.Nature of aid activity

The provision of clinical chemistry analyzers, automatic urinalysis devices and electrode-type electrolyte analyzers including reagents is free of charge. In addition, technical personnel have been dispatched for instruction on device usage and maintenance.

4.Group companies

These aid efforts have been provided by these local ARKRAY group companies.
ARKRAY Marketing Shanghai, Inc. (Head Office: Shanghai, China)
ARKRAY Factory Shanghai, Inc. (Head Office: Shanghai, China)

Details about the instruments

Below is a list of the main instruments that ARKRAY is providing as part of the medical relief effort:

• Clinical Chemistry Analyzer: SPOTCHEM EZ (SP-4430)
  This is an automatic blood analyzer for the testing of liver function, kidney function and circulatory function. It has a built-in centrifuge unit so measurement can be performed quickly without pre-treatment, immediately after blood collection. A maximum of 63 tests can be performed per hour.
• Automatic Urinalysis Device: Aution Eleven (AE-4020)
  This is an automatic urinalysis device for the testing of items such as blood-glucose, protein, and bilirubin etc. The Aution Eleven offers high-accuracy measurement of urine as well as playing an important role in the screening of diabetes and early-stage kidney disease. The specialized reagent for the device, Aution Screen, can also be read visually.
• Electrode-type Electrolyte measurement device: SPOTCHEM EL (SE-1520)
  This is an automatic analyzer for the simultaneous measurement of 3 separate electrolytes that are used in emergency testing (sodium, potassium and chloride) Instrument warm-up takes one minute as does a single measurement.

(*These test devices are aimed at clinics and general practitioners for use at the patient’s site. They are also appropriate for bedside testing and emergency testing at night in ICUs and emergency rooms. POCT analysis devices are required to be small and easy to use. All devices above are dry-chemistry analyzers meaning that a water supply and access to waste draining is not required, which is important for the maintenance of a hygienic environment.)

Casualties being treated

A technician demonstrating device usage (Foreground)