Point-of-Care Analyzer
Practise reading blood gas and chemistry results on a simulated handheld analyzer.
Choose a patient case, load a cartridge, run the sample, and interpret the results exactly as they appear on screen: values, flags, calculated results, missing measurements and critical findings. Built for paramedics, EMRs, nurses, students and clinicians who want more practice turning point-of-care results into clinical meaning.
Step 1: Choose the patient
Case 1
72-year-old male with known severe COPD. Increasingly drowsy over 2 hours. Accessory muscle use, pursed-lip breathing. RR 28, HR 112, BP 138/86. SpO2 86% on 2L home O2.
- Sample in this case
- Arterial
- Temperature in this case
- Not given
Recorded with the results. They are reported at 37.0 C.
Step 2: Choose the cartridge
Different cartridges measure different combinations of blood gases, electrolytes, chemistry and calculated values.
Instructor control: make the sample fail
Step 3: Run the sample and read the screen
Case 1 on the Blood gas + lactate cartridge, arterial sample.
Ready.
A real handheld analyzer takes about two minutes to process a cartridge. This one counts down 5 seconds so you can move quickly between cases. Use the on-screen arrows or Page Up and Page Down to move through the result pages.
Read the analyzer, not just the numbers
Point-of-care analyzers do more than display laboratory values. They calculate results, flag abnormalities, leave out measurements they do not have, and show different things depending on the cartridge loaded. This simulator is built to help you recognize those differences. Each run tells you, under the screen, where a calculated value differs from the case sheet, why a pulse oximeter reading and a calculated saturation are not the same number, and that a dash is a result the case did not give. Nothing is invented to fill the screen.
About the simulator
This tool recreates the workflow of a handheld point-of-care blood analyzer for teaching. Systems such as the Abbott i-STAT use disposable cartridges to measure blood gases, electrolytes, chemistry and other values beside the patient instead of sending every sample to a central laboratory. This simulator is an independent Delta Emergency Support Training educational tool. It is not produced by Abbott, does not reproduce a specific device interface, and does not endorse any analyzer or manufacturer. i-STAT is a trademark of Abbott.
Reference ranges. The chemistry reference ranges and critical values are Alberta laboratory values, from the Alberta Health Services Mobile Integrated Health lab values module (2022). A result past a critical value is marked critical, the kind a laboratory phones through. Where that module gives no range, including the blood gases, glucose, hemoglobin and the anion gap, the manufacturer's ranges are used. Ranges differ between laboratories. With real results, the range supplied by your laboratory or analyzer wins.
Calculated results. Bicarbonate, total CO2, base excess, oxygen saturation, the anion gap and hemoglobin are calculated rather than measured, as on a real analyzer. The anion gap here includes potassium: sodium plus potassium, minus chloride and total CO2.
Temperature. Results are reported at 37.0 C. Some real analyzers can also show the blood gases corrected to the patient's temperature. This simulator records the temperature for teaching but does not correct for it.
Use results in context. Point-of-care testing gives you information. It does not replace patient assessment, clinical judgement, protocols or medical oversight. Which analyzers you may use, which cartridges you carry and how you may act on a result depend on your service, your scope of practice, your protocols and your medical direction.
A free study aid from Delta Emergency Support Training, not certification, medical advice or medical direction. Interpret every result in the context of the patient and follow your own protocols and medical oversight.