Connecting a HORIBA Pentra C400 to your LIS or EHR

Quick answer

Yes. HORIBA specifies an RS-232C LIS connection on the Pentra C400 that sends patient results and QC using the ASTM protocol. Catenix reaches that port through a serial device server, files the QC apart and delivers patient results to your EHR or LIS. Order handling on your analyser is confirmed during setup.

The Pentra C400 is HORIBA's compact clinical chemistry analyser, rated at up to 420 tests an hour with as many as 55 assays on board. It measures by spectrophotometry (colorimetric and turbidimetric methods) and, with the optional ISE module, sodium, potassium and chloride by potentiometry. The main unit is about a metre wide and 120 kg, with a separate cooling unit.

Samples go on six racks of ten positions, loaded continuously, in primary tubes or cups; serum, plasma, urine, CSF and whole blood are all accepted. Reagents sit in 52 cassette positions, 44 of them refrigerated, and reactions take place in disposable acrylic cuvettes fed by an automatic changer holding 432. Everything is run from a built-in 12-inch touch screen on Windows 10.

QC travels down the same ASTM line

Some analysers keep their controls to themselves. The Pentra C400 is specified to send QC data as well as patient results over its ASTM connection, which lets Catenix see each control run as it happens. Controls are recorded as QC, graded with Westgard rules against the targets your lab sets and plotted on Levey-Jennings charts, alongside the charts the analyser keeps itself. When a control fails, patient results for that assay are held.

Racks, barcodes and order download

An integrated barcode reader with a tube presence detector identifies each sample on the rack, and a second reader handles reagent cassettes. Published listings for the C400 describe its host interface as bidirectional, with broadcast download and host query. Where that is switched on, Catenix supplies the tests the EHR ordered for each barcoded tube; otherwise results are matched to orders by sample ID afterwards.

The analyser can dilute automatically from 1/2 to 1/22,500, post-concentrate and re-run by itself. Each ASTM message is kept with its result, so a re-run stays visible later.

One serial port to plan for

As the LIS connection is RS-232C, a serial device server sits between the C400 and the lab network. The gateway behind it reconnects after any network interruption and, if the internet fails, holds results on site for forwarding later. C400 test codes are matched to EHR codes during setup, and results with no order to belong to wait for review. Archived results and QC can also be exported to a USB key at the analyser, independent of the live link.

HORIBA and Pentra C400 are trademarks of their owners. Catenix is an independent connectivity provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by HORIBA.

Questions people ask

Which protocol does the Pentra C400 use?

HORIBA specifies the ASTM protocol over an RS-232C serial port for patient results and QC.

Does the Pentra C400 send QC to the host?

Yes. QC data is part of what HORIBA lists for the LIS connection, and Catenix files it separately from patient results.

How many results does the C400 keep on board?

Its database holds 100,000 results, and archived data can be exported to a USB key.

Related: HORIBA ABX Micros ES 60 connection · HORIBA Yumizen H500 connection · HL7, POCT1-A2 and ASTM explained · Device library

Product and company names are trademarks of their owners and are used for identification only. Catenix moves, stores and displays results with traceability; it does not interpret results or give clinical advice. Reviewed November 2026.

Tell us your setup

Send us your analyser and the system you want results in, and we will confirm how it connects, usually within one working day. Ask about your setup.