Bingham Memorial Hospital today announced that it is has purchased a new, state-of-the-art DNA testing instrument—the BioFire FilmArray®—which will help their hospital and partner facilities throughout east Idaho to meet the growing need of rapid infectious disease testing and identification.

Bingham Memorial is one of only two facilities in southeast Idaho to utilize this technology. “We are committed to excellence and progress,” says Louis Kraml, CEO of Bingham Memorial Hospital. “This new lab equipment, which uses technology that identifies and tests for infectious disease DNA, is just one example of how we strive to provide the highest quality of healthcare to our guests.”

The new testing technology at Bingham Memorial’s laboratory is a win-win for everyone involved, especially the healthcare professionals and citizens of southeast Idaho. This system will eliminate invasive and uncomfortable testing, improves patient care and safety, and provides better and more precise results with significantly less turnaround times.

The BioFire FilmArray® has two extensive systems for testing. The Respiratory Panel is capable of detecting 17 of the most common viral and bacterial infectious agents, including bordetella pertussis. Additionally, it tests for forms of strep throat and influenza strains.

“Before, we had limited means to test for respiratory illnesses because the technology simply did not exist,” says Steve Williams, laboratory director at Bingham Memorial Hospital. “With this new system, we can test for and identify the DNA present in respiratory illnesses in about an hour, including MRSA, SARS and RSV, which is extremely important to detect in children.”

With this new technology, the testing accuracy increases to 90 to 99 percent. In the past, it would take five to seven days to determine if an infection was bacterial or viral via blood cultures, and, if the test had to be taken through a spinal tap, it would have taken three to four days. Because the new technology is able to identify components of DNA present in a virus or bacteria, test results are fast and accurate.

“Test results will be available within one hour, allowing us to identify infections much more quickly than before, which means faster treatment for the patient,” says Mr. Williams. “By using DNA/molecular testing, we can provide faster and more accurate results to the doctor and the patient, instead of waiting for days.”

Several new platforms were available, but after assessing the options, the BioFire FilmArray® was the best fit for the amount of testing required at a facility like Bingham Memorial. After the Bingham Laboratory team went through extensive training and a thorough validation process, the BioFire FilmArray® was test validated and is now online, and physicians are able to order tests using this new equipment.

“Investing in such a dynamic piece of technology means we continue to strive for the highest standards in laboratory medicine,” says Mr. Williams. “This enables us to continue moving forward with confidence in our endeavor to provide the highest quality of patient’s services. Our patients can be assured the results they receive have been done accurately and precisely.”

About Bingham Memorial Hospital

Bingham Memorial Hospital is a 501(c)3 non-profit critical access hospital located in Blackfoot, Idaho. Bingham Memorial Hospital is committed to the pursuit of excellence in our endeavor to provide a continuum of quality, compassionate, healthcare services for residents and visitors to east Idaho, in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. They have healthcare facilities in Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Shelley, and Soda Springs, Idaho. For more information, visit https://binghamhealthcare.org or call (208) 785-4100.

About BioFire Diagnostics, Inc.

BioFire Diagnostics, Inc., formerly Idaho Technology, Inc., is a privately held clinical diagnostics company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company manufactures and distributes the user-friendly FilmArray System to hospital-based clinical laboratories across the U.S. and EU. BioFire currently offers the FilmArray Respiratory Panel (RP) and the Blood Culture Identification (BCID) Panel, both FDA-cleared. The FilmArray System is a significant advancement in user-friendliness and multiplex infectious disease testing capability for hospital clinical labs. Requiring only two minutes of hands-on time, the FilmArray System has about a 1-hour turnaround time, and each panel simultaneously tests for 20+ pathogens.

For further information, please visit www.BioFireDx.com.

Contact:

BioFire Diagnostics, Inc.

Rachel Jones

801-736-6354 x438

[email protected]