BioMerieux VTK01 User Manual

The Display Base can be plugged into the wall using the provided single-head USB cable
(with no connection to the PC), or the Display Base can be plugged into a PC using the
provided cable with two USB heads.

Figure 13: VITEK® DensiCHEK® System Configurations - Connectivity Base

The Connectivity Base must be plugged into a PC.

Overview of Operation Elements

Figure 14: Display Base and Pod Overview

System Description and Basic Operations

Main Components of the VITEK® DensiCHEK® Instrument

• Displau Base or Connectivity Base Unit – Syncs to and charges the Pod.

• Pod - Optically reads the McFarland value of microorganism suspensions for the user and
communicates the value to the base unit.

• McFarland References – Verifies the calibration of the optics contained within the Pod.
These references are dual-vials and labeled 0.0, 0.5, 2.0, and 3.0 McFarland.

Secondary Components of the VITEK® DensiCHEK® Instrument

• 12 mm x 75 mm clear polystyrene test tubes.

• VITEK® 2 software compatible with the DensiCHEK® - Assists with the following tasks:

◦ Tracks individual McFarland values from the Pod.
◦ Communicates between the Pod, the base unit, and a PC. (The Pod communicates via

a Bluetooth wireless connection to the base unit. The base unit communicates to the
PC running VITEK® 2 FLEXprep™ software via a USB wired connection.)

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Pod

Pod

System Description and Basic Operations

The Pod optically reads the turbidity of a microorganism suspension and sends the
information to the base unit, so the user has a assessment of the suspension. The Pod is
intended to be used with polystyrene test tubes.

Pod Lights

The Pod has two lights on the front: one for the status of the pairing connection to the base
and one for the McFarland status.

The Pairing Light demonstrates connectivity by:

• A blinking red light or solid colored light that does not match that of the base unit indicates
that the Pod is not synced to the base unit, or it is out of range from the base unit.

• A solid colored light matching that of the base unit indicates that the Pod is synced to the
base unit.

Note: The solid colored light is configured on the Configuration screen by the user. The color

options are cyan, blue, pink, white, green, and yellow.

• No illumination of the light indicates that the Pod is not charged.

• A blinking colored light (excluding red) indicates that the Pod entered Power Save mode. If
you want to exit Power Save mode, insert a test tube into the paired Pod, tap the display
screen, or remove and re-seat the Pod on the base unit. The Pod turns on again.

Note: Power Save mode does not affect connected PCs.

The McFarland Status light demonstrates performance by:

• A green light indicates that the suspension is within the selected card type performance
range.

• A red light indicates that the suspension is above the selected card type performance
range.

• A yellow light indicates that the suspension is below the selected card type performance
range.

• No light indicates that a suspension is being measured with the N/A card selected, that the
pod is in the process of taking a McFarland measurement, or that no measurement is in
progress.

Note: When you have selected the N/A screen, the system does not alert you when a

suspension is in or out of range. N/A provides the McFarland value for suspensions, but it
does not provide an acceptable range.

Pod Button

The Pod has one button on the back of it. If the Pod is paired with a base and a test tube is
inserted, when this button is pressed once, the McFarland value for the current suspension is
captured on the FLEXPrep screen (if configured).

IMPORTANT: After pressing the button on the Pod, the following happens: The saved McFarland

value appears above the main number on the screen.

If the button is held down for approximately three seconds, while a saline tube or 0.0
McFarland reference is inserted, then the instrument is zeroed.

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Display Base

System Description and Basic Operations

Figure 15: Pod

1. McFarland Status Light

2. Pod Pairing Light

3. Pod Button

A contrast plate is included with the Pod. The contrast plate can be used to aid in assessing
the turbidity of a suspension. This contrast plate cannot be used as an alternative manual
inoculation measurement method.

Figure 16: Contrast Plate Within the Pod

1. Contrast Plate

Display Base

The Display Base syncs to and charges the Pod. This base has a display screen that displays
a McFarland reading measurement of a tube inserted into the Pod. This base can also
transmit information to the VITEK® 2 software compatible with the VITEK® DensiCHEK®, if the
user has access to the software.

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Connectivity Base System Description and Basic Operations

When a Pod is synced to a Display Base, the McFarland Status light on the Pod matches the
McFarland Meter color on the display screen. Additionally, the Pod icon color in the corner of
the display screen matches the Pairing Light color on the Pod.

Figure 17: VITEK® DensiCHEK® Display Base with the Pod

1. McFarland Status Light

2. Display Screen

Connectivity Base

The Connectivity Base syncs to and charges the Pod. This base unit does not have a display
screen, so the values are transmitted directly to the VITEK® 2 FLEXprep software.

Both the Display Base and the Connectivity Base work with the Connectivity workflows;
however, the connectivity base does not work with Standalone workflows. To use the
Connectivity Base, you must have the instrument connected to the compatible PC with
VITEK® 2 FLEXprep software using the provided USB cable.

When a Pod is synced to a Connectivity Base, the Pod Pairing Light color matches the Base
Pairing Light color.

WARNING

If the Connectivity Base fails to communicate with the PC, the following
occurs: (1) the McFarland measurement data is not displayed; (2) the
Connectivity Base cannot download software or firmware updates; and (3)
the Connectivity Base cannot send data to the connected VITEK® 2 Systems
PC.

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Graphical User Interface

Figure 18: VITEK® DensiCHEK® Connectivity Base with the Pod

1. McFarland Status Light

2. Pod Pairing Light

3. Base Pairing Light

4. Pod Button

5. Base Charging Port

Graphical User Interface

System Description and Basic Operations

With the user interface of the VITEK® DensiCHEK®, you can easily identify and capture the
McFarland value of your suspension. When using the Display Base, the user interface is on
the instrument in the form of a display screen, and, if configured, a software interface called
FLEXprep. When using a Connectivity base, the user interface is with a software interface
called FLEXprep.

Display Base Screen

On the Display Base touch screen, users can tap the Card Type button on the bottom of the
display to select the appropriate card type (GN-GP, BCL-YST, ANC-CBC-NH, or N/A), or
users can tap the Configuration button to view or alter the instrument configuration settings.

Figure 19: VITEK® DensiCHEK® Display Base

1. Configuration button

2. McFarland Range Meter

3. Card Type button

4. Pod Battery Life icon

5. Pod Pairing Color icon

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