Success Story

A NEW TYPE OF WEAPON AGAINST DRUGS

Welch Allyn scanners are used in many different situations and places and for many different reasons - one example being the fight against drugs. Some four years ago, the Armed Forces Compulsory Drug Testing Team embarked on a new project. This involves the collection of thousands of specimens each year, each is checked for the presence of prohibited substances.

To ensure that the whole process could run as quickly and efficiently as possible, the team decided to use barcodes on the sample tubes and the associated forms and packaging. Each barcode contains a unique number which identifies the sample, and which is read into a computer via a hand-held scanner.

Major Tim Saunders explains: "We started looking for suitable scanners, our main criteria being compatibility with our computer system and a competitive price. We selected Welch Allyn's 5510 laser scanners, which use flash memory - allowing them to be easily upgraded from a PC. The scanners have proved to be extremely reliable and are also the most robust items out of all of the IT kit we use."

He continues: "Initially we were using DOS-based 486 PCs, but we have since upgraded to Pentium Windows-based models. Having chosen the Welch Allyn scanners, we were delighted that we were able to upgrade them fairly easily. Indeed, they were the only item in our IT inventory that was successfully upgraded!"

The scanners are used to verify the sample numbers of specimens taken from members of the UK's Armed Forces throughout the world. Some 40 scanners are currently in use by the Compulsory Drug Testing Team.

"The main benefit of the scanners is that they enable us to carry out a vast number of tests each year - some 125,000," says Major Saunders. "We would never be able to do so many tests so quickly without the Welch Allyn units. They are more efficient, accurate and reliable than any of the other options available. What is even more gratifying is that they have actually made the whole sampling process cheaper - which is very unusual!"

He concludes: " Welch Allyn have looked after us very well, and have established a good reputation for themselves. The army is now adopting a much more technological approach to problems. Various units have seen the scanners in use, and have been impressed by their capabilities: they will therefore probably be used in other areas of the Armed Forces' work in the future."

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