We are long term STA Compact users who are in the market for new coag instrumentation.  We have narrowed our choices down to the Stago Compact Max or the IL ACL TOP. Has anyone used both?  Any input is greatly appreciated.

Hi Kimg, I have used both for many years. The bench top Stago appears to be a more reliable instrument. The means by which it tests the plasma, movement of magnetic ball in reaction cup stops when clotting occurs, gets around most HIL (Hemolysis, Icterus, Lipemia) issues, which is a big plus. The only draw back, for some, is the loading of specimens one at a time. The TOP instrument uses specimen racks that hold ten specimens each and have eight rack bays for loading; so one can load eighty specimens consecutively. However it's means of detection is spectrophotomic, light transmittance I think, which can be altered do to HIL; the degree of which differs for each assay.

Thank you!

We have TOPs here.  Routine PT, APTT, etc. are indeed light transmittance, which automatically adjusts for "HIL" for clotting tests.    In extreme cases, you must examine the clot curve to determine a result, but this is rarely a problem.  And any kind of nterference in latex-based tests like D-dimer or specto tests like ATIII are rare m(unless the specimen is clotted or something).

Software on the workstation is OK.  Service is pretty good. Reagent, QC, etc. vials are bar-coded. Cals and QC set up are a little tedious, but no worse than other analyzers I would think.

Scott