Connect any analyzer to QCnomics (Agent latest)
The QCnomics Analyzer Agent runs as a Windows service (Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit) on one PC on the lab network. It works with any analyzer that sends results in HL7 v2 or ASTM (LIS2-A2) over a network cable or a serial RS-232 cable — that covers practically every hematology, chemistry, immunoassay, coagulation and electrolyte analyzer sold in the last 20 years. Message reading happens on qcnomics.com, so support for a new model is a website update, never a new installer. It sits between the analyzer and your LIS: every message goes to the LIS unchanged, and only QC results are copied to QCnomics. Patient results never leave the lab.
Not subscribed yet? Run the free
Analyzer Connection Test first: it checks, with your own analyzer, that QC results and past results come through - no account needed.
New in 1.0.12 - old QC without re-sending, no LIS involved: the agent finds where the analyzer's own software keeps its results on the PC (its database or export folder), recognises the QC table and reads it read-only - from a copy, so the software is never disturbed. Past QC for any date range is fetched from there instead of being re-sent from the analyzer, and software with no LIS link can be read live the same way. Only QC rows are read; patient tables are never opened for upload.
New in 1.0.11 - every analyzer on the PC, automatically: the agent lists every analyzer-to-LIS link it finds and picks the method for each one: analyzers on the network are read without any change (zero-touch); analyzer software on the same PC as the LIS is read directly where Windows allows it, otherwise the check shows the one port to change and the agent passes every message on to the LIS, so the LIS keeps working. Instruments controlled by their own software are recognised and skipped. In a connection test each analyzer found gets its own connection.
New in 1.0.10 - no IP or port for the lab: if the lab has LIS software, install the agent on the LIS computer: it finds the LIS and the analyzer by itself and reads the copy of the results the LIS receives (zero-touch) - nothing is changed on the analyzer. If the lab has no LIS, the connection test prints a one-page sheet for the analyzer company's service engineer with the two values to set.
New in 1.0.9 - automatic connection check: right after registration the agent checks this PC, the network and the analyzer link by itself. It fixes what it safely can (Windows Firewall, PC sleep, clock, a port already in use, the COM port, the serial baud rate / parity) and writes down every change so it can be undone. It then shows, in English or Hindi, exactly what is left to do - usually one line: the IP address and port to type on the analyzer. If the LIS runs on the same PC and the analyzer already sends to it, the agent can read that copy (zero-touch) and nothing on the analyzer changes. The lab can click Check my connection in the agent window at any time; support can run the same check from qcnomics.com without remote access.
New in 1.0.8: Past results — in Auto QC → Fetch / Import QC → Past results, choose a connection and a period (or Last 7 / 30 / 90 / 180 days). The agent re-reads that period from the LIS database or export folder; for an analyzer on a live link the lab re-sends from the analyzer and QCnomics counts what arrives. Days already fetched are left out and results already stored are skipped, so nothing is duplicated. Also in 1.0.7/1.0.8: results are written to disk before the analyzer is acknowledged and deleted only after qcnomics.com confirms it has stored them; ASTM frames are checksum-checked and resent frames are never stored twice; serial data bits / parity / stop bits / flow control are configurable; the agent starts with its last settings when the PC boots without internet and uploads everything once the connection is back.
Analyzer ──► Agent PC (port you choose) ──► LIS (same as today)
└── QC results only ──► qcnomics.com ──► Auto QC review ──► L-J charts
1. Install the agent (5 minutes)
- On a PC that is always on (ideally the LIS PC), download QCnomicsAgent-Setup-latest.exe and run it as administrator. Upgrading an older agent keeps its registration.
- If the PC is new: in QCnomics open Auto QC → Setup / Connections → Generate token, paste it into the Configurator and click Register.
- Check Live agent status in Setup / Connections — the agent should show "last seen" within a minute.
Check that the installer is genuine
2. Write down what the analyzer uses today
On the analyzer's LIS / communication screen note: protocol (HL7 or ASTM), LIS IP, LIS port, and whether the analyzer is client (it connects to the LIS — usual) or server. Keep this note: it is also your roll-back.
- Network analyzers (most hematology and newer chemistry systems): the screen shows an LIS IP and port. Usually the analyzer is the client (it connects to the LIS); a few make the LIS connect to them — the setup form has an option for both.
- Serial analyzers (many chemistry, electrolyte and older systems): a 9-pin RS-232 cable, typically 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. If the analyzer manual says otherwise (for example 7 data bits, even parity, 2 stop bits or RTS/CTS flow control), set the same values on the connection in QCnomics: agent 1.0.7 uses them. Plug it into the agent PC (a USB-to-serial adapter works; the COM number is in Device Manager).
- QC transmission: many analyzers only send patient results by default. Look for a setting such as "send QC/control results to host", or transmit QC runs manually from the QC screen.
- How QC is marked: the standard flags (HL7 processing id
Q, HL7 result type MSH-16 = 2 used by Mindray BS/CL and E-LAB ES analyzers, ASTM action code Q, specimen type QC, or a sample id starting with QC/CTRL) are recognised automatically. If your analyzer uses its own convention, pick a rule such as "sample id starts with…" in the connection form.
3. Add the connection in QCnomics
- Setup / Connections → Add connection: name (e.g. Hematology analyzer), identifier (any short label; for HL7 analyzers use the value they send as sending facility), lab analyzer, QC rule "Analyzer marks QC itself", review mode Hold for review, and a Go-live date of today (anything observed earlier is ignored — no double entry with manual IQC).
- Tick Run on agent. Network: agent port (e.g.
5100; a different port per analyzer) and Forward to LIS = the LIS IP/port you noted. Serial: the COM port and baud rate; if the LIS also needs the data, forward to its TCP address or to a second COM port.
- Save. Within a minute Live status shows "waiting for analyzer to connect".
4. Re-point the analyzer (2 minutes, with the lab's permission)
- Network: on the analyzer LIS screen replace the LIS IP with the agent PC's IP and the port with the agent port. Serial: move the cable to the agent PC.
- Live status should show "pass-through active". Send one patient result and check it still reaches the LIS as usual.
- Run QC (or send stored QC from the analyzer's QC screen). It appears in Auto QC within seconds; the Message log shows every message received.
Roll-back: put the original LIS IP/port back on the analyzer. Nothing else changes.
Keep the agent PC on. In pass-through mode the analyzer reaches the LIS through it. The agent is a Windows service with automatic restart; if the PC is off, the analyzer behaves exactly as if the LIS were down and resends later.
5. Map controls once
- Control Mapping: match field Control lot, key = lot number the analyzer sends (e.g.
TB-320078), pick the QC lot and level. The analyzer's own level (L/M/H) is used when one lot carries several levels.
- In the review queue pick the analyte for any unmatched code once (some analyzers send numeric test codes such as
717) — QCnomics remembers it for next time.
- When everything posts correctly for a few days, switch the connection to Auto-post. Runs already typed in by hand are flagged and never auto-posted twice.
Eight ways to get QC results in — pick what the lab already has
| Method | When to use | What it needs |
|---|
| 1. Live stream (pass-through) | Analyzer speaks HL7/ASTM; you want results the second they are run | Agent PC; analyzer re-pointed to it (or serial cable moved) |
| 2. Watch folder | The LIS (or analyzer software) can schedule a QC export file; nothing touches the analyzer | Agent PC; LIS vendor schedules the export; columns mapped once |
| 3. Upload a file | Occasional import, or a lab without an agent PC | Any CSV / Excel / text export; columns mapped once, remembered |
| 4. Paste from screen | Small labs: copy the QC table from the LIS screen or Excel | Nothing |
| 5. LIS / API push | LIS or middleware vendor can call a web API when QC is released | One agent token; JSON rows |
| 6. LIS database read | Fully automatic with no vendor work: the agent runs a read-only SELECT on the LIS database every few minutes | Agent PC; a read-only DB login and the QC table name (SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, ODBC) |
| 7. Photo of printout | Analyzers that only print (semi-automated chemistry, older hematology); phone photo or scanned PDF | A phone; you check the read text before import |
| 8. Email-in | The LIS can e-mail its QC export on a schedule | Enable in Fetch / Import QC → Email-in; put the lab key in the subject |
All eight feed the same review queue, auto-post rules, control mapping, go-live date and duplicate guard. Methods 2–8 are analyzer-independent by nature — the LIS has already understood the analyzer. Method 1 depends on the analyzer's protocol (next section).
Which analyzers work with the live stream (method 1)
The bridge understands the two industry-standard result formats: HL7 v2 (over TCP/MLLP) and ASTM E1394 / LIS2-A2 (over TCP or RS-232). Most analyzers made since about 2005 use one of these, and the manufacturer's LIS/host manual will say which. It does not understand manufacturer-private formats. Check the analyzer's "host interface" or "LIS" specification before promising a lab it will work.
| Works out of the box (standard protocol) | Needs a dedicated driver (private format) — ask support first |
|---|
| Mindray BC-5000/5130/5150/5380/6000-series and BS-200/240/360/430 (HL7 or ASTM) · Sysmex XN / XN-L / XS series (ASTM) · Roche cobas c311/c501/e411 (ASTM, usually serial) · Abbott Architect / Alinity (ASTM/HL7) · Horiba Pentra, Yumizen, Micros ES-60 (ASTM) · Erba XL-series and EM-200 (ASTM) · BioSystems BA-series (ASTM/HL7) · Siemens ADVIA (ASTM) · Snibe Maglumi, YHLO, Maccura, Dirui, Dymind, Rayto, Diatron Pictus and most other current Indian-market systems |
Built from the manufacturer's spec, awaiting first live confirmation: E-LAB ES-480/ES-380/ES-200 and Mindray BS-series chemistry with QC sent in the OBR segment (HL7 v2.3.1, MSH-16 = 2; control name, lot, expiry, level, mean and SD are read with each result) · Mindray BC-700 series and CL-700i (Mindray HL7 v2.3.1 family; confirm QC transmission with one test run) · Siemens Dimension EXL/RxL/Xpand (proprietary RS-232) · Beckman Coulter AU480/AU680 (Olympus online format) · Mindray BC-20s/30s/3000-series "8ID/10ID" serial mode (use HL7 mode where the analyzer offers it — that works today).
No public specification — need one capture or the dealer's interface document: Sysmex XP-100/XP-300 and pocH-100i · Mindray BC-2800 · Diatron Abacus · bioMérieux VIDAS · Agappe Mispa i2/i3 (RS-232 print stream) · BioSystems A15/A25 · semi-automated analyzers that only print (Chem-5/7, Mispa Viva) — use Photo of printout for these. |
Confirmed standard (work today): Transasia/Erba H360, H560, Elite 580 (Dymind-built, HL7 with MSH-11=Q) · Agappe Mispa CXL Pro and Mispa Count (HL7/ASTM) · Snibe Maglumi 600–4000 and X-series (ASTM or HL7) · Siemens ADVIA, Centaur, Atellica, Immulite (ASTM/HL7) · BioSystems BA200/BA400 (ASTM/HL7) · Erba XL-series, EM-200 (ASTM) · Sysmex XN, XS, CS, CA series (ASTM).
If in doubt: set the connection to Diagnostic capture, run one sample, and the Live status will say whether a standard message was recognised. Unrecognised bytes are saved on the agent PC (C:\ProgramData\QCnomicsAgent\spool\capture) so support can add a driver without visiting.
Troubleshooting (Live agent status tells you where it stops)
- No listener — the connection is not ticked "Run on agent" or has no port.
- Waiting for analyzer / has never connected — the analyzer still points to the old LIS address, a firewall blocks the port, or wrong IP.
- LIS unreachable — wrong LIS IP/port in "Forward to LIS", or the LIS service is not running. The analyzer is disconnected so it retries (nothing is lost).
- Port already in use — another program (often the LIS itself when the agent is on the LIS PC) uses that port; pick another agent port.
- Messages seen but QC sent 0 — the analyzer is not transmitting QC results, or marks them in its own way. Switch the QC rule to "sample id starts with…" with the prefix your controls use, or temporarily choose Diagnostic capture and contact support.
- Serial: "Cannot open COMx" — wrong COM number, or the old LIS software still holds the port. Close it or use another adapter.