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Lynn Pompa, RCP
Supervisor, Respiratory Care and Pulmonary Diagnostics
Albert Einstein Medical Center
Philadelphia, PA

In my experience, the GEM Premier 3000 analyzer has enormously simplified countless operational issues in our blood gas and electrolyte services at Albert Einstein Medical Center, by virtue of the following features:

iQM - has streamlined our operation immensely, freeing us from running controls, freeing me from haranguing people about why controls were skipped on a given date. As the people running samples are busy respiratory clinicians, it is invaluable to know that the analyzer is self-monitoring, self-correcting, and self-documenting QC stability - backed up by the calibration verification of each cartridge by ampuled controls prior to use.

Password protection - locks out uncertified users in remote locations (eg OR) - also always allows me to track personnel performance in the blood gas records on the analyzers.

Cartridge system - simplifies supplies and storage as everything is self-contained, so the only thing we need on the shelf are cartridges - eliminates maintenance - I am especially impressed with the ease of cartridge replacement.

GEMweb - I use GEMweb daily for delta chart reviews and corrective action tracking; but, most useful for me is remote access to patient results on the analyzer itself and documentation of users - particularly when questions arise about abnormal or critical results.

In short, the GEM Premier 3000 analyzer represents the best of both the "point-of-care" and "benchtop" analysis worlds - on-board QC and password lockout make it safe in any environment, putting it light-years ahead of the i-Stat products we have used - yet it has the stability and trackability of a benchtop analyzer - and to each and every staff member, the GEM Premier 3000 is a welcome change from the electrode-based systems of the past.


Rozanna Templin, MS, CPFT
Blood Gas Services Coordinator
Department of Respiratory Care
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Chicago, IL

The GEM Premier 3000 with iQM is the analyzer we chose to start our blood gas Point- of-Care (POC) program. Its automatic functions, self-contained cartridge, ease of use, and true quality management system provide consistent performance among all the instruments, regardless of the number in service, the expertise of personnel using them, or the frequency of sample analysis. The GEM Premier 3000's continual assessment of its operation, initiation of corrective actions, and documentation of incidents, interventions, and outcomes make compliance with analytical regulations painless for both the clinician using the analyzer and the POC manager. The clinician's interaction is primarily sample analysis, easily performed by following a few prompts. The clinician's attention, therefore, can focus on drawing samples and acting on "right result/right patient" - the two components of the testing process that are much more important in their role as patient care givers. The GEM Premier 3000 with iQM is its own laboratorian in a neat package assuring the quality of the results it produces 24 hours a day.


Davis John, RRT
Clinical Coordinator/Director Respiratory/Pulmonary Services
St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center
Paterson, NJ

I would like to thank Instrumentation Laboratory for introducing the GEM Premier 3000 analyzer at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. At that time, I had just been appointed to a new position with responsibility for our blood gas laboratories. Even though I had worked with the GEM Premier 3000 as a clinician for several years, I had little knowledge about its operation, except that it was the easiest blood gas analyzer I had ever used. I had CAP coming in two weeks for an inspection and I had no idea what to do and how to prepare.

The technical/field representatives at IL came in and walked me through the process. I was amazed that I did not have to do anything! The GEM Premier 3000 kept track of all my records, calibrations, iQM data and all I had to do was hit "print." I thought to myself, "there has to be more than this involved." Honestly, even though I was reassured by IL, I was nervous on the day of the inspection. I had quite a stringent inspector who asked for anything and everything. He was surprised to see that everything he asked for was pulled up by the analyzer in a matter of seconds. He was so impressed with our data and blood gas laboratory that he gave us an excellent report. This was a drastic improvement from our last CAP visit.

Our Medical Director was impressed with the results and we expanded our blood gas laboratories to three more areas of the hospital. I just wanted to say thanks to IL because you have an excellent product and your team goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service.


Thomas Cristino, BS, RRT
Chief Respiratory Therapist
Clinical Lab Director for the Blood Gas Lab
Underwood Memorial Hospital
Woodbury, NJ

I have been in Respiratory Care for 25 years and have used many blood gas analyzers along the way. When I arrived at Underwood Memorial Hospital, there were two non-IL analyzers in the department. It immediately became apparent that I was going to be spending a great deal of my time maintaining these units or on the phone with the service reps.

My daily routine consisted of electrode membrane changes, calibration solution bottles checks and changes, pump winding changes, calibration cylinders monitoring and changing, and handling blood clotting on the electrodes. Other problems included electronic errors that could only be fixed by the field technicians and the "dreaded" analyzer downtime. The quality control carousel had to be filled every day with quality control vials, which stained the floor if they fell and broke!

I had to rely on an area hospital to analyze our blood gas samples because the back-up analyzer failed several times. I was paged on a consistent basis by my staff about problems and for technical assistance. I was spending more time in the lab and on the phone trying to fix the analyzers and keep them running then I was performing my other duties or having fun with my family! I became very disenchanted with the constant problems and the amount of time required to maintain these analyzers. I was frustrated with inadequate field technical support and began looking for a more dependable, less labor-intensive and time-consuming unit.

I read about IL's new GEM Premier 3000 analyzer in a professional journal and the new cartridge system it featured piqued my interest. Housing the pH, PCO2, and PO2 membranes, cal gases, cal solutions and pump winding tubing, this cartridge was self-calibrating after EVERY sample. I contacted the sale representative and requested a demonstration. I was amazed at the size and simplicity of operation. I performed a time study and a cost analysis on the two units we were using and compared these findings to the actual cost and maintenance of the GEM Premier 3000. Due to its cartridge-system technology, the time involved maintaining the GEM Premier 3000 were negligible, representing significant time- and cost-savings.

In October 2003, we purchased two GEM Premier 3000 analyzers and an IL682 CO-Oximeter, and have been completely satisfied ever since. I always wanted to place an analyzer in the ICU, but the old analyzers were too cumbersome and running up and down stairs to maintain one would have been a nightmare. Because the GEM Premier 3000 requires no daily maintenance, it takes up less than one square foot of counter space and is lightweight, we now have one in the ICU! The staff maintains the unit by simply replacing the cartridge when it is running low. The nursing staff and physicians in the ICU are extremely happy to have ABG samples drawn, run and analyzed in just a few minutes. Needless to say, this has enhanced our patient care greatly.

As a Respiratory Care Manager, the GEM Premier 3000 is one of the nicest, most convenient and maintenance-free analyzers I have ever used. I have to remind myself that it's there! It has worked out really well for our department and I would recommend it to anyone. I know several other hospitals and nursing homes that use the GEM Premier 3000 and are as satisfied as I am.


Melanie Loya, RRT, RCP
ABG Lab Coordinator
Mercy General Hospital
Sacramento, CA. 95819

My lab installed the GEM Premier 3000 with iQM in March 2004. As a result, we have saved over 15 manpower hours per week. This instrument, with its self-contained cartridge system requires no maintenance, except for the cartridge change. It takes less than five minutes to insert the cartridge and after the 30-minute warm-up, less than five minutes to run the CVP (cartridge verification). Once those tasks are completed, the instrument runs itself.

Having iQM means:

    * never having to change, re-membrane or de-bubble another electrode, then wait for the two two-point calibrations, followed by running QC.
    * never having to worry if the reagent bottles have run out or if the waste bottle is overflowing.
    * never having to hear "I'm sorry. I forgot to run QC."

The GEM Premier 3000 with iQM troubleshoots blood clots, drifts and calibration errors, and then fixes the problem. If the instrument cannot fix itself, it lets you know. iQM instills a sense of confidence that the results are accurate because of the pre-analytical processes preformed by the instrument.

The GEM Premier 3000 with iQM can be used as a stand-alone instrument with the on-board data management system or it can be interfaced with a number of LIS systems.

In conclusion, I would recommend this instrument as a state-of-the-art analyzer.
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