LABORATORY CONNECTORS
Analyzer / Instrument Connectors
3 of 8Analyzer connectors enable Mediloop to communicate directly with laboratory instruments and point-of-care devices when integration through the LIS is not available or not suitable. The LIS remains the orchestrator of laboratory workflow whenever possible.
Direct ConnectivityStandards-BasedReal-timeReliableSecureAuditable
Connectivity options & architecture
A. Recommended — LIS orchestrated
Mediloop HIS / EHRLISAnalyzer / InstrumentLISMediloop HIS / EHR
LIS manages orders, results and instrument workflow and remains the laboratory system of record.
B. Direct connectivity — when required
Mediloop HIS / EHRWorkstation Agent / Device GatewayAnalyzer / Instrument
Use for POCT, standalone or legacy instruments when an LIS interface is not available or suitable.
Supported protocols & interfaces
ASTM E1381 — low-level instrument transport
ASTM E1394 — laboratory instrument messaging
HL7 v2 instrument interfaces: MSH, SPM, OBR, OBX, NTE, QAK, QPD, DSC
Vendor native protocols / SDKs
Serial / RS-232
TCP / IP (socket)
USB / HID for some POCT devices
Analyzer capabilities
Accept orders / worklists from Mediloop or LIS
Return measurement results and observations
Transmit instrument status and availability
Quality control results and flags
Calibration and maintenance events
Sample / specimen ID via barcode or HL7
Real-time event streaming
Device configuration if supported
Clock synchronization and full audit
Data flow — direct connectivity
1
Order / Worklist
Order created in Mediloop and sent to instrument
2
Acknowledgement
Instrument acknowledges with ACK
3
Execution
Sample processed on analyzer
4
Result
Results sent to Mediloop
5
Acknowledgement
Mediloop acknowledges receipt
6
State update
Instrument state and events updated
Instrument discovery & setup
Auto-discovery on network or serial ports
Manual IP / port / COM / baud-rate configuration
Protocol and capability detection
Test connection and validation
Certificate / credential enrollment
Instrument alias and location mapping
Error handling & retries
Automatic retry with exponential backoff
Message sequencing and deduplication
Timeout and connection recovery
Alerting on failures and offline status
Dead-letter queue for failed messages
Manual reprocess capability
Device states & events
Available — instrument ready
Busy — processing sample
Maintenance — cleaning/service
Calibration — QC or calibration
Error — instrument fault
Offline — not reachable
Unknown — no response
Security & audit
mTLS for connections
Token-based authentication
Device identity & certificates
Encrypted data in transit
Role-based access control
Full audit trail of messages and events
Bidirectional communication
| Direction | Example | Acknowledgement |
|---|---|---|
| Mediloop / LIS → Analyzer | Orders, worklists, configuration requests | ACK / device response |
| Analyzer → LIS / Mediloop | Results, QC data, instrument status | ACK / receipt confirmation |
| Bidirectional | Queries, sample correlation, maintenance state | Sequence and correlation IDs |
Best practices
Prefer LIS-orchestrated connectivity whenever possible
Treat direct analyzer integration as a controlled exception
Version vendor protocols and firmware compatibility explicitly
Preserve specimen, device and run identifiers end-to-end
Test offline, retry, duplicate and out-of-order scenarios
Monitor device health and reconciliation continuously
Always prefer LIS-orchestrated integration. Use direct analyzer connectivity only when the clinical workflow requires it or when an LIS interface is not available.