BS-400/BS-420

Chemistry Analyzer

HL7 Interface Manual

 © 2007 Shenzhen Mindray Bio-medical Electronics Co., Ltd. All rights Reserved.
For this manual, the issued Date is 2007-08 (Version: 1.1).

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SHENZHEN MINDRAY BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (hereinafter called
Mindray) owns the intellectual property rights to this Mindray product and this manual.
This manual may refer to information protected by copyrights or patents and does not
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Mindray does not assume any liability arising out of any infringements of patents or
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Disclosure of the information in this manual in any manner whatsoever without the
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Contents of this manual are subject to changes without prior notice.
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connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this manual.
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„ all installation operations, expansions, changes, modifications and repairs of this
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national and local requirements;
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WARNING
It is important for the hospital or organization that employs this
equipment to carry out a reasonable service/maintenance plan.
Neglect of this may result in machine breakdown or personal injury.

i
Warranty
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OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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Return Procedure
In the event that it becomes necessary to return this product or part of this product to
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Company Contact
Manufacturer: Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.
Address: Mindray Building, Keji 12th Road South, Hi-tech Industrial Park,
Nanshan, ShenZhen518057, P.R. China
Tel: +86 755 26582479 26582888
Fax: +86 755 26582934 26582500

EC Representative
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Address: Eiffestraβe 80, Hamburg 20537, Germany
Phone: 0049-40-2513175
Fax: 0049-40-255726

ii
 Foreword

Who Should Read This Manual

This manual is written for LIS (Laboratory Information Management System)
developers and those who need to learn the HL7 interface used by Mindray.
Instructions are provided in this manual for LIS developers to guide them to develop
LIS interface that enables their LIS to communicate with the BS-400/BS-420 of
Mindray. The developers are expected to have knowledge of LIS and HL7 standards,
and capacity of network programming. The communication protocol is TCP/IP for
network layer and HL7 version 2.3.1 for application layer. LIS developers are
recommended to develop the LIS interface using Visual C++, Visual Basic, etc. in the
Windows operating system.

What Can You Find in This Manual

This manual introduces the HL7 interface protocols used by Mindray. Chapter 1
introduces the Mindray HL7 interface generally. Chapter 2 illustrates the bidirectional
communication between the BS-400/BS-420 and the LIS host, which means the
BS-400/BS-420 can not only send test results to LIS but also download sample
request information from LIS. Chapter 3 describes the communication process and
provides you with several message examples.

Conventions Used in This Manual

This chart explains the symbols used in this manual.

When you see… Then…

Read the statement following the symbol. The
NOTE statement is alerting you to information that
requires your attention.

I
 Contents

Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... I
Who Should Read This Manual........................................................................................... I
What Can You Find in This Manual ..................................................................................... I
Conventions Used in This Manual....................................................................................... I
Contents ....................................................................................................................................... II
1 Mindray HL7 Interface ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Messages Compatible with HL7 Interface ............................................................... 1
1.2 HL7 Lower Layer Protocol ....................................................................................... 1
1.3 Minimal Lower Layer Protocol(MLLP) ..................................................................... 2
2 Bidirectional Communication.......................................................................................... 3
2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Message Grammar .................................................................................................. 3
2.3 Compatible HL7 Messages...................................................................................... 5
2.4 Message Segment................................................................................................... 8
3 Communication Process and Message Example........................................................ 24

II
 1 Mindray HL7 Interface

HL7 interface is developed by Mindray for the BS-400/BS-420 Chemistry Analyzer to

adapt to the prevailing Laboratory Information Management System (LIS). It provides
a channel for BS-400/BS-420 and other IP-based networks. With TCP/IP, the LIS
host can receive test results from chemistry analyzers, which also send patient
information, sample information and test results to LIS in real-time or batch mode.
Therefore, users can identify samples by both scanning sample bar code and
downloading from LIS host. All data are transmitted in format of HL7 v2.3.1.This
interface enables bidirectional communication between the BS-400/BS-420 and the
LIS host.

1.1 Messages Compatible with HL7 Interface

HL7, a transmission standard for electronic data and providing nurse for inpatients,
was first defined by Americans and now has been applied by many countries.
Mindray HL7 interface is defined based upon HL7 v2.3.1. Refer to HL7 Interface
Standards Version 2.3.1 for details.

Only portion of the messages, segments and other data defined are used for Mindray
HL7 interface that needs only part of these data.

1.2 HL7 Lower Layer Protocol

TCP/IP is a byte stream protocol, which does not provide message border.HL7 is a
higher layer protocol that is based upon messages but provides no message
termination mechanism. To determine the message border, we have employed the
minimal lower layer protocol. Refer to HL7 Interface Standards Version 2.3.1 for
details.

Communication Layer

1
 The messages are transmitted in format of:

<SB> ddddd <EB><CR>

Where,

„ <SB> = Start Block character (1 byte)

ASCII <VT>, namely <0x0B>, must not be confused with the SOH or STX in
ASCII.

„ ddddd = Data (variable number of bytes)

ddddd is an HL7 message, which only includes ISO 8859-1 characters

(hexadecimal 20-FF) and <CR>, exclusive of other control characters and
those that cannot be printed out.

„ <EB> = End Block character (1 byte)

ASCII <FS>, namely <0x1C >, must not be confused with the ETX or EOT in
ASCII.

„ <CR> = Carriage Return (1 byte)

Enter character in ASCII is <0x0D>.

1.3 Minimal Lower Layer Protocol(MLLP)

This interface is compatible with the Minimal Lower Layer Protocol (MLLP) of
HL7.MLLP, an encapsulation of HL7 messages, is defined in the HL7 standard. HL7
messages are encapsulated with a single character at the beginning and a dual
character at the end. The characters used by the HL7 interface are default in the HL7
standard.

Start character: Hexadecimal <0B>

End character: Hexadecimal <1C><0D>

2
 2 Bidirectional
Communication

Communication here concerns result sending and sample information downloading.

The former means the analyzer transmits the measurement data to an external
system (such as the LIS).There are two types of transmission: real-time and batch.
Batch-mode transmission is not allowed in two conditions: 1) Real-time mode is
enabled; 2) The system is in testing status. The latter means the analyzer downloads
sample information from LIS in real-time or batch mode. Real-time mode can be
achieved only if a sample bar code reader is equipped. Batch-mode downloading
refers to retrieving samples in certain period of the day.

2.1 Introduction
This chapter introduces the message types (Ver. 2.3.1) used by Mindray HL7
interface.

NOTE
HL7 supports many types of messages, but only 5 of them are
employed on the Mindray HL7 interface.

The following sections introduce the common grammars in detail.

2.2 Message Grammar

This section introduces the general grammar of Mindray HL7 interface.

3
 NOTE
For complete and detailed descriptions of HL7 message grammar,
refer to the HL7 standard written by the HL7 standard committee.

Each HL7 message is composed of segments that end with <CR>.

Each segment consists of a name (three characters) and variable fields that are
composed of components and subcomponents. The separators of each element are
defined in the MSH segment in every message.

For instance,

MSH|^~\&|Mindray|BS-400|||20060427194802||ORU^R01|1|P|2.3.1||||0||ASCII|||

Where,

The five characters following MSH are defined as delimiters to separate the fields,
components and subcomponents. Although the characters can be any non-text ones,
the HL7 standard recommends you to use the following:

Character Description
| Field separator
^ Component separator
& Subcomponent separator
~ Repetition separator
\ Escape character

MSH has the first field include all separators with most of the other fields empty that
are optional and not used by Mindray HL7 interface.

Field 9: Includes message types (ORU, R01)

Field 10: Includes an unique text string to indicate message ID
Field 11: Includes processing ID (P refers to product)
Field 12: Defines the version of HL7 (2.3.1) for the message

The order of the segments following MSH in every message is specially specified.

4
 NOTE:
A segment is defined as optional or to be repeated by using the
following grammar:
[ ] indicates the segment in it is optional.
{ } indicates the segment in it can be repeated for 0 or 1 time or more.

2.3 Compatible HL7 Messages

All messages used for HL7 interface include ORU, ACK, QRY, QCK and DSR.

Test results are transferred as follows:

Sample information is downloaded from LIS as follows:

ORU/ACK: Observe result (unsolicited)/Acknowledgment

ORU^R01 is used to transmit test results (sample test, calibration test and QC test)
to the LIS host.

z An ORU^R01 message for sample test result includes:

- Patient information (patient name, sample ID, etc)

- Doctor’s order (sample type, sender, tester, clinical diagnosis, etc)

- Test results

5
Each message corresponds to a sample, which may have multiple tests. The LIS
host is able to choose any of the information in the message as needed.

The structure of an ORU message is as follows:

ORU-Observational Results (Unsolicited) Description

MSH Message header
PID Patient identification
OBR Observation report ID
{OBX} Observation/Result

z An ORU^R01 message for calibration test result includes:

- Test information (test No., test name)

- Calibration rule, calibration date

- Information related to calibrator (number, sequence No., name, lot No.,

expiration date, concentration, etc)

- Calibration result (response, number of calibration parameters, calibration

parameters)

All calibration test results of a test can be transferred via one message. The LIS host
is able to choose any of the information in the message as needed.

z An ORU^R01 message for QC test result includes:

- Test information (test No., test name)

- Information related to control (number, sequence No., name, lot No., expiration
date, mean concentration)

- Test date, test results (concentration)

All QC test results of a test can be transferred via one message. The LIS host is able
to choose any of the information in the message as needed.

The calibration and QC test results are transferred as follows:

ORU-Observational Results (Unsolicited) Description

MSH Message Header
OBR Observation report(calibration and
QC)

ACK^R01 message responds to ORU message and is as follows:

ACK Description
MSH Message Header
MSA Message Acknowledgment

6
QRY/QCK: Query/Query acknowledgment

QRY^Q02 message is used for sample information query on LIS and has an event
Q02.The structure of QRY message is as follows:

QRY Description
MSH Message Header
QRD Query Definition
QRF Query Filter

QCK^Q02 message responds to QRY message and is as follows:

QCK Description
MSH Message Header
MSA Message Acknowledgment
ERR Error
QAK Query Acknowledgment

DSR/ACK: Display response/ Acknowledgment

DSR^Q03 message sends and displays searched results, i.e. send sample
information from LIS to the analyzer. The structure of DSR message is as follows:

DSR Description
MSH Message Header
MSA Message Acknowledgment
ERR Error
QAK Query Acknowledgment
QRD Query Definition
QRF Query Filter
{DSP} Display Data
DSC Continuation Pointer

ACK^Q03 responds to DSR message and is as follows:

ACK-Acknowledgement Description
MSH Error Header
MSA Message Acknowledgement
ERR Error

7
2.4 Message Segment
This section describes the components of each segment:

- Field length

- Description

All fields used in message segment are listed in following tables. The numbers
followed by a ‘#’ symbol indicate the optional fields according to the HL7 protocol.

NOTE
All fields of the Mindray HL7 interface are provided for function
extension in future although some of the fields are void.

1. MSH - Message Header

All HL7 messages begin with MSH, which is the first segment of an HL7 message
and always located at the beginning of the message. The MSH segment defines the
intention, source, purpose and grammar of the message.

The MSH segment of Mindray HL7 interface message uses the following fields:

No. Field Length Item

1# Field Separator 1 Includes the separator between
segment ID and the first real field, and
defines the field separators (|) of the
remaining part of the message.
2# Encoding Characters 4 Includes component, repetition,
escape and subcomponent separators
(^~\&).
3 Sending Application 180 Sending application, set to Mindray.
4 Sending Facility 180 Sending facility, set to BS-400/BS-420.
5 Receiving Application 180 Void and reserved. Receiving
application.
6 Receiving Facility 180 Void and reserved. Receiving facility.
7 Date/Time Of 26 Time of the current message. Calling
Message the system time.
8 Security 40 Void and reserved. Security.
9# Message Type 7 Type of the message, such as
ORU^R01.
10# Message Control ID 20 Message control ID. Indicates one
message each and increases from 1
with message increasing.
11# Processing ID 3 Processing ID. Always set to P
(product).

8
 12# Version ID 60 Version ID. Version of HL7 protocol:
2.3.1.
13 Sequence Number 15 Void and reserved. Serial number
14 Continuation Pointer 180 Void and reserved. Continuation
pointer
15 Accept 2 Void and reserved. Type of accepted
Acknowledgment acknowledgment
Type
16 Application 2 Type of application response, used as
Acknowledgment result type.0-Sample result;
Type 1-Calibration result; 2-QC result.
17 Country Code 2 Void and reserved. Country code
18 Character Set 10 Character set. ASCII is used.
19 Principal Language Of 60 Void and reserved. Principle language
Message of the message
20 Alternate Character 20 Void and reserved. Handling scheme
Set Handling Scheme of alternate character

Comments: MSH segment applies to all messages. Fields 3 and 4 are determined
by LIS manufacturer; fields 5 and 6 are set to “Mindray” and “BS-400/BS-420”; fields
10 and 16 are integers; others are strings.

2. MSA - message acknowledgment segment

The MSA segment of Mindray HL7 interface message uses the following fields:

No. Field Length Description

1# Acknowledgment 2 Acknowledgment code. AA stands for
Code accepted, AE for error and AR for
rejected.
2# Message Control ID 20 Message control ID, corresponding to
MSH-10.
3 Text Message 80 Text message, a description of error or
reject event, corresponding to field 6.
It can be written into error logs.
4 Expected Sequence 15 Void and reserved. Expected
Number sequence number.
5 Delayed 1 Void and reserved. Delayed
Acknowledgment acknowledgment type.
Type
6 Error Condition 100 Error condition (status code).

Note: Fields of MSA-6 are introduced as follows.

9
 Status Code Status Text(MSA-3) Description/Comment
(MSA-6)
Succeeded: AA
0 Message accepted Succeeded
Error code: AE
100 Segment sequence Segment sequence is incorrect or
error required segment is missed.
101 Required field missing Required field in a segment is
missed.
102 Data type error Data type of a field is incorrect.
103 Table value not found Table value is not found, therefore
not used temporarily.
Reject code: AR
200 Unsupported message Message type is not supported.
type
201 Unsupported event Event code is not supported.
code
202 Unsupported Processing ID is not supported.
processing id
203 Unsupported version Version ID is not supported.
id
204 Unknown key identifier Key identifier is unknown, such as
inexistent patient information.
205 Duplicate key identifier The key identifier already exists.
206 Application record The transaction could not be
locked performed at the application storage
level, such as locked database.
207 Application internal Unknown application internal error.
error

Comments: MSA segment applies to ACK^R01, QCK^Q02 and ACK^Q03 messages.

Fields 4 and 6 are integers, while others are strings.

3. PID - Patient Identification

The PID segment constitutes patient information and uses the following fields:

No. Field Length Description

1 Set ID – PID 10 Identifies different patient fields
2 Patient ID 20 Patient ID of patient.
3# Patient Identifier List 20 Patient ID
4 Alternate Patient ID – 20 Bed No.
PID

10
5# Patient Name 48 Name of patient
6 Mother’s Maiden 48 Patient area
Name
7 Date/Time of Birth 26 Birth date/time of patient
8 Sex 1 Sex of patient
M for male
F for female
O for others
9 Patient Alias 48 Blood type of patient
10 Race 80 Void and reserved. Race of patient
11 Patient Address 106 Address of patient
12 County Code 4 County code of patient(postal code)
13 Phone Number - 40 Phone number (home) of patient
Home
14 Phone Number - 40 Void and reserved. Phone number
Business (business) of patient
15 Primary Language 60 Void and reserved. Primary language of
patient
16 Marital Status 80 Void and reserved. Marital status of
patient
17 Religion 80 Void and reserved. Religion of patient
18 Patient Account 20 Patient type
Number
19 SSN Number -Patient 16 Social security number of patient
20 Driver's License 25 Payment type of patient
Number – Patient
21 Mother's Identifier 20 Void and reserved. Mother’s identifier
22 Ethnic Group 80 Ethnic group the patient belongs to
23 Birth Place 60 Birth place of patient
24 Multiple Birth 1 Void and reserved. Multiple birth
Indicator indicator, Y(yes) or N(no).
25 Birth Order 2 Void and reserved. Birth order, an
integer greater than 0
26 Citizenship 80 Comments
27 Veterans Military 60 Void and reserved. Veterans military
Status status of patient
28 Nationality 80 Nationality of patient
29 Patient Death Date 26 Void and reserved. Patient death date
and Time and time
30 Patient Death 1 Void and reserved. Patient death

11
 Indicator indicator, Y (yes) or N (no)

Comments: The PID segment only applies to the ORU^R01 messages. The 1st and
25th fields are integers, the 24th and 30th fields are Booleans, and others are strings.

4. OBR - Observation Request

The OBR segment transmits the doctor’s orders associated with the patient report
and uses the following fields (MSH-16 is 0 when sample test results are transferred):

No. Field Length Description

1 Set ID – OBR 10 Identifies different OBR fields
2 Placer Order Number 22 Order number of placer, used as
sample bar code
3 Filler Order Number 22 Order number of filler, used as sample
ID
4# Universal Service ID 200 Universal service ID, set to
Mindray^BS-400/BS-420
5 Priority 2 STAT. Y for yes and N for no.
6 Requested Date/time 26 Void and reserved. Requesting
date/time
7 Observation 26 Observation date/time, used as testing
Date/Time date/time
8 Observation End 26 Void and reserved. Observation end
Date/Time date/time
9 Collection Volume 20 Void and reserved. Collection volume
10 Collector Identifier 60 Void and reserved. Collector identifier
11 Specimen Action 1 Void and reserved. Specimen action
Code code
12 Danger Code 60 Void and reserved. Danger code
13 Relevant Clinical Info. 300 Clinical diagnosis
14 Specimen Received 26 Specimen receiving date/time
Date/Time
15 Specimen Source 300 Sample source, such as blood, urine,
etc
16 Ordering Provider 120 Order provider, used as sender
17 Order Callback 40 Department from which sample is sent
Phone Number
18 Placer Field 1 60 Characteristic of sample (icterus,
hemolysis and lipemia)
19 Placer Field 2 60 Blood bag No.
20 Filler Field 1 60 Attending doctor
21 Filler Field 2 60 Treating department

12
22 Result Rpt/Status 26 Void and reserved. Result report/status
Change – Date/Time change-date/time
23 Charge to Practice 40 Void and reserved. Charge to practice
24 Diagnostic Serv Sect 10 Void and reserved. Diagnosis ID
ID
25 Result Status 1 Void and reserved. Status of result
26 Parent Result 200 Void and reserved. Parent result
27 Quantity/Timing 200 Void and reserved. Quantity/time
28 Result Copies To 150 Void and reserved. Result copies
29 Parent 150 Void and reserved. Parent order
30 Transportation Mode 20 Void and reserved. Transportation
mode
31 Reason for Study 300 Void and reserved. Reason for study
32 Principal Result 200 Void and reserved. Principal result
Interpreter interpreter
33 Assistant Result 200 Void and reserved. Assistant result
Interpreter interpreter
34 Technician 200 Void and reserved. Technician
35 Transcriptionist 200 Void and reserved. Transcriptionist
36 Scheduled Date/Time 26 Void and reserved. Scheduled
date/time
37 Number of Sample 4 Void and reserved. Number of sample
Containers containers
38 Transport Logistics of 60 Void and reserved. Transport logistics
Collected Sample of collected sample
39 Collector’s Comment 200 Void and reserved. Collector’s comment
40 Transport 60 Void and reserved. Transport
Arrangement arrangement responsibility
Responsibility
41 Transport Arranged 30 Void and reserved. Transport arranged
42 Escort Required 1 Void and reserved. Escort required
43 Planned Patient 200 Void and reserved. Planned patient
Transport Comment transport comment
44 Ordering Facility 60 Void and reserved. Name of placer
Name
45 Ordering Facility 106 Void and reserved. Address of placer
Address
46 Ordering Facility 48 Void and reserved. Phone number of
Phone Number placer
47 Ordering Provider 106 Void and reserved. Address of placer
Address provider

13
Comments: The PID segment only applies to the ORU^R01 messages. The 1st, 3rd
and 37th fields are integers, the 9th field is floating number, and others are strings.

When calibration test results are transferred (MSH-16 is 1), the applied fields include:

No. Field Length Description

1 Set ID – OBR 10 Identifies different OBR fields
2 Placer Order Number 22 Order number of placer, used as test
No.
3 Filler Order Number 22 Order number of filler, used as test
name
4# Universal Service ID 200 Universal service ID, set to
Mindray^BS-400/BS-420
5 Priority 2 Void and reserved. Priority
6 Requested Date/time 26 Void and reserved. Requesting
date/time
7 Observation 26 Observation date/time, used as
Date/Time calibration date/time
8 Observation End 26 Void and reserved. Observation end
Date/Time date/time
9 Collection Volume 20 Used as calibration rule.0 - One-point
linear; 1 – Two-point linear; 2 –
Multi-point linear; 3 - Logistic-Log4P; 4 -
Logistic-Log5P; 5 - Exponential 5P; 6 -
Polynomial 5P; 7 – Parabola; 8 –
Spline.
10 Collector Identifier 60 Void and reserved. Collector identifier
11 Specimen Action 1 Number of calibrators
Code
12 Danger Code 60 Calibrator No.
13 Relevant Clinical Info. 300 Name of calibrator
14 Specimen Received 26 Lot No. of calibrator
Date/Time
15 Specimen Source 300 Expiration date of calibrator
16 Ordering Provider 120 Standard concentration of calibrator
17 Order Callback 40 Concentration level of calibrator. H for
Phone Number high; M for medium, L for low.
18 Placer Field 1 60 Response
19 Placer Field 2 60 Number of calibration parameters
20 Filler Field 1 60 Calibration parameter
21 Filler Field 2 60 Void and reserved
22 Result Rpt/Status 26 Void and reserved. Result report/ status
Change – Date/Time change-date/time

14
23 Charge to Practice 40 Void and reserved. Charge to practice
24 Diagnostic Serv Sect 10 Void and reserved. Diagnosis ID
ID
25 Result Status 1 Void and reserved. Status of result
26 Parent Result 200 Void and reserved. Parent result
27 Quantity/Timing 200 Void and reserved. Quantity/time
28 Result Copies To 150 Void and reserved. Result copies
29 Parent 150 Void and reserved. Parent order
30 Transportation Mode 20 Void and reserved. Transportation
mode
31 Reason for Study 300 Void and reserved. Reason for study
32 Principal Result 200 Void and reserved. Principal result
Interpreter interpreter
33 Assistant Result 200 Void and reserved. Assistant result
Interpreter interpreter
34 Technician 200 Void and reserved. Technician
35 Transcriptionist 200 Void and reserved. Transcriptionist
36 Scheduled Date/Time 26 Void and reserved. Scheduled
date/time
37 Number of Sample 4 Void and reserved. Number of sample
Containers containers
38 Transport Logistics of 60 Void and reserved. Transport logistics
Collected Sample of collected sample
39 Collector’s Comment 200 Void and reserved. Collector’s comment
40 Transport 60 Void and reserved. Transport
Arrangement arrangement responsibility
Responsibility
41 Transport Arranged 30 Void and reserved. Transport arranged
42 Escort Required 1 Void and reserved. Escort required
43 Planned Patient 200 Void and reserved. Planned patient
Transport Comment transport comment
44 Ordering Facility 60 Void and reserved. Name of placer
Name
45 Ordering Facility 106 Void and reserved. Address of placer
Address
46 Ordering Facility 48 Void and reserved. Phone number of
Phone Number placer
47 Ordering Provider 106 Void and reserved. Address of placer
Address provider

15
Comments: The PID segment only applies to the ORU^R01 messages. The 1st, 9th,
11th, 19th, and 37th fields are integers, the 10th field is floating number, and others are
strings. Field 12-18 are respectively V1^V2^…Vi according to the number of
calibrators. The different values of field 20 are separated by ^ according to the
number of calibration parameters.

Different calibration rules have various parameters:

„ Linear (one-point, two-point and multi-point): K and R0;

„ Logit-Log4P: K, R0, a and b;
„ Logit-Log5P: K, R0, a, b and c;
„ Polynomial 5P: K, R0, a, b, c and d;
„ Parabola: R0, a and b;
„ Spline: 4*(n-1) parameters, which are R0i, ai, bi, ci. n is number of calibrators.

When QC test results are transferred (MSH-16 is 2), the applied fields include:

No. Field Length Description

1 Set ID – OBR 10 Identifies different OBR fields
2 Placer Order 22 Order number of placer, used
Number as test No.
3 Filler Order 22 Order number of filler, used
Number as test name
4# Universal Service 200 Universal service ID, set to
ID Mindray^BS-400/BS-420
5 Priority 2 Void and reserved. Priority
6 Requested 26 Void and reserved.
Date/time Requesting date/time
7 Observation 26 Observation date/time, used
Date/Time as QC date/time
8 Observation End 26 Void and reserved.
Date/Time Observation end date/time
9 Collection 20 Void and reserved.
Volume
10 Collector 60 Void and reserved.
Identifier
11 Specimen Action 1 Number of controls
Code
12 Danger Code 60 Control No.
13 Relevant Clinical 300 Control name
Info.
14 Specimen 26 Lot No. of control
Received
Date/Time
15 Specimen 300 Expiration date of control
Source
16 Ordering 120 Void and reserved.

16
 Provider
17 Order Callback 40 Concentration level of
Phone Number control. H for high; M for
medium, L for low.
18 Placer Field 1 60 Mean value (mean
concentration)
19 Placer Field 2 60 Standard deviation of control
20 Filler Field 1 60 Test result (concentration)
21 Filler Field 2 60 Void and reserved.
22 Result Rpt/Status 26 Void and reserved. Result
Change – report/status
Date/Time change-date/time
23 Charge to 40 Void and reserved. Charge to
Practice practice
24 Diagnostic Serv 10 Void and reserved. Diagnosis
Sect ID ID
25 Result Status 1 Void and reserved. Status of
result
26 Parent Result 200 Void and reserved. Parent
result
27 Quantity/Timing 200 Void and reserved.
Quantity/time
28 Result Copies To 150 Void and reserved. Result
copies
29 Parent 150 Void and reserved. Parent
order
30 Transportation 20 Void and reserved.
Mode Transportation mode
31 Reason for Study 300 Void and reserved. Reason
for study
32 Principal Result 200 Void and reserved. Principal
Interpreter result interpreter
33 Assistant Result 200 Void and reserved. Assistant
Interpreter result interpreter
34 Technician 200 Void and reserved.
Technician
35 Transcriptionist 200 Void and reserved.
Transcriptionist
36 Scheduled 26 Void and reserved.
Date/Time Scheduled date/time
37 Number of 4 Void and reserved. Number
Sample of sample containers
Containers
38 Transport 60 Void and reserved. Transport

17
 Logistics of logistics of collected sample
Collected
Sample
39 Collector’s 200 Void and reserved.
Comment Collector’s comment
40 Transport 60 Void and reserved. Transport
Arrangement arrangement responsibility
Responsibility
41 Transport 30 Void and reserved. Transport
Arranged arranged
42 Escort Required 1 Void and reserved. Escort
required
43 Planned Patient 200 Void and reserved. Planned
Transport patient transport comment
Comment
44 Ordering Facility 60 Void and reserved. Name of
Name placer
45 Ordering Facility 106 Void and reserved. Address
Address of placer
46 Ordering Facility 48 Void and reserved. Phone
Phone Number number of placer
47 Ordering 106 Void and reserved. Address
Provider Address of placer provider

Comments: The PID segment only applies to the ORU^R01 messages. Fields 1, 11
and 37 are integers, while others are strings. Fields 12-15, and 17-20 are in the
format of V1^V2^…Vi according to the number of controls. Please note that each
day-to-day QC result is transferred via one message, while multiple real-time and
daily QC results for each test are transferred via a message, and the QC results in
different batches should be transferred separately.

5. OBX - Observation

The OBX segment transmits the observations. If sample results are to be transmitted
(MSH-16 is 0)—Each patient may have multiple test results, then more than one OBX
segment will be used to transmit the results. On the BS-400/BS-420, all test results of
a patient are transmitted separately. The HL7 interface does not check the
repeatability of the test results, which should be performed by the user system.

The OBX segment of Mindray HL7 interface uses the following fields:

No. Field Length Description

1 Set ID – OBX 10 Identifies different OBX
segments.
2 Value Type 3 Value type, identifies the test
result.
NM (numeric), numeric value,
for quantitative tests
ST (string), for qualitative

18
 tests
3# Observation 590 Observation identifier, used
Identifier as test ID.
4 Observation 20 Observation Sub-ID, used as
Sub-ID test name.
5 Observation 65536 Observation value, used as
Value test result (concentration,
negative(-), positive(+), etc).
6 Units 90 Unit of test result.
7 References 90 Reference range for test
Range result.
8 Abnormal Flags 5 Abnormity flag to indicate
whether the test result is
normal or not.
L - Low
H - High
N - Normal
9 Probability 5 Void and reserved.
Probability
10 Nature of 2 Void and reserved. Reason of
Abnormal Test abnormal test.
11# Observe Result 1 Status of observation result,
Status set to F-final results.
12 Date Last 26 Void and reserved. Date of
Observe Normal last normal observation
Values value.
13 User Defined 20 User-defined access check,
Access Checks used as original result.
14 Date/Time of the 28 Observation date/time, used
Observation as testing date/time
15 Producer's ID 60 Void and reserved.
Producer’s ID
16 Responsible 80 Responsible observer, used
Observer as tester.
17 Observation 60 Void and reserved.
Method Observation method.

Comments: The OBX segment only applies to the ORU^R01 messages. Fields 1, 3
and 9 are integers; fields 5 and 13 are floating numbers; others are strings. Please
note that fields 5 and 13 are in the format of Result1 ^ Result2 ^ Result3 when
SI(serum index) test is run. Result 1 is turbidity(L), result 2 is hemolysis(H), and result
3 is icterus(I).

6. QRD - query definition segment

The QRD segment of Mindray HL7 interface uses the following fields:

19
 No. Field Length Description
1# Query Date/Time 26 Query date/time, i.e. system
date/time.
2# Query Format Code 1 Query format code, set to R
(record-oriented format).
3# Query Priority 1 Query priority, set to D (deferred).
4# Query ID 10 Query ID, indicates different queries
and increases from 1.
5 Deferred Response 1 Void and reserved. Deferred
Type response type.
6 Deferred Response 26 Void and reserved. Deferred
Date/Time response date/time.
7# Quantity Limited 10 Quantity limited request, set to RD
Request (records).
8# Who Subject Filter 60 Subject filter, used as sample bar
code.
9# What Subject Filter 60 Subject filter. OTH for query
10# What Department Data 60 Void and reserved. Department
Code data code.
11 What Data Code Value 20 Void and reserved. Data code value
Qual. qualifier.
12 Query Results Level 1 Void and reserved. Query results
level. T for Full results

Comments: QRD segment may appear in QRY^Q02 and DSR^Q03 messages. Field
8 is bar code for real-time downloading and null for group downloading; field 4 is an
integer, while others are strings.

7. QRF - query filter segment

The QRF segment is used together with the QRD segment and uses the following
fields:

No. Field Length Description

1# Where Subject Filter 20 Subject address filter, set to
BS-400/BS-420.
2 When Data Start 26 Data start date/time, used as start
Date/Time receipt date/time.
3 When Data End 26 Data end date/time, used as end
Date/Time receipt date/time.
4 What User Qualifier 60 Void and reserved. User qualifier.
5 Other QRY Subject 60 Void and reserved. Other QRY subject
Filter filter.
6 Which Date/Time 12 Object type. RCT(Specimen receipt
Qualifier date/time, receipt of specimen in filling

20
 ancillary (Lab))
7 Which Date/Time 12 Object status. COR(Corrected only (no
Status Qualifier final with corrections))
8 Date/Time Selection 12 Date/time selection qualifier. ALL(All
Qualifier values within the range)
9 When 60 Void and reserved. Time interval.
Quantity/Timing
Qualifier

Comments: QRF segment only applies to QRY^Q02 message. Fields 3 and 4 are 0
o’clock and query time of the day, and used as search conditions. All fields are
strings.

8. ERR - error segment

The ERR segment adds error description to acknowledgment message and uses the
following fields:

No. Field Length Description

1# Error Code and 80 Error code and location.
Location

Comments: ERR segment may appear in QCK^Q02, DSR^Q03 or ACK^Q03

message. The only field of this segment is an integer.

9. QAK - query acknowledgment segment

The QAK segment includes query response information and uses the following fields:

No. Field Length Description

1 Query Tag 32 Query tag, set to SR (sample request
information).
2 Query Response 2 Query response status:
Status
OK: Data found, no errors
NF: No data found, no errors

AE: Application error

AR: Application reject

Comments: QAK segment applies to QCK^Q02 and DSR^Q03 messages. All fields
of this segment are strings.

10. DSP - display data segment

The DSP segment displays searched sample information and patient information and
uses the following fields:

21
 No. Field Length Description
1 Set ID - DSP 4 Identifies different DSP segments.
2 Display Level 4 Display level.
3# Data Line 300 Data line, i.e. searched contents.
4 Logical Break Point 2 Logical break point.
5 Result ID 20 Result ID.

Comments: DSP segment only applies to DSR^Q03 message. Field 1 is an integer,

while others are strings.

Field 3 “Data Line” displays the sample information downloaded from the LIS server.
The sequence of the sample information is shown as follows. The bar code and test
No. are required, while other items are optional. If a sample contains more than one
test, corresponding test fields should be added following field 29 and in the same
format as field 29.

Seque Data Data Type and Value

nce
1 Admission Number String
2 Bed Number String
3 Patient Name String
4 Date of Birth String. The format is
YYYYMMDDHHmmSS, such as
20061122130540.
5 Sex String. Male/M, Female/F, Other/O
6 Patient Alias String. It includes O, A, B and AB.
7 Race String, blank
8 Patient Address String
9 County Code String
10 Home Phone Number String
11 Business Phone Number String, blank
12 Primary Language String, blank
13 Marital Status String, blank
14 Religion String, blank
15 Patient Account Number String. It includes Outpatient,
inpatient, other.
16 Social Security Number String
17 Driver License Number String, It includes Own and
Insurance.
18 Ethnic Group String
19 Birth Place String

22
 Seque Data Data Type and Value
nce
20 Nationality String
21 Bar Code String
22 Sample ID int
23 Sample Time String. See item 4
24 STAT String. It includes Y (yes), N(No)
and void. N is default.
25 Collection Volume Float, blank
26 Sample Type String. It includes serum, plasma
and urine, as well as the sample
types configured by the user.
27 Fetch Doctor string
28 Fetch Department string
29 Test ID^Test String^string^string^string
Name^Unit^Normal Range

The analyzer recognizes a test with its Test Number. For the same test, if the test
number in the analyzer and that in the LIS server are not the same, you can open the
ItemID.ini file in the folder where the executive file of operating software locates and
configure the test number. The test settings on the BS-400/BS-420 are the same with
that on the LIS by default.

11. DSC - Continuation pointer segment

The DSC segment indicates whether the data message is the last one.

No. Field Length Description

1 Continuation pointer 180 Continuation pointer

Comments: DSC segment only applies to DSR^Q03 message. The only field of this
segment is void when DSR^Q03 message responds to group query and not void in
other conditions. This field is an integer.

23
3 Communication Process
and Message Example

A message of HL7 protocol is the format of:

<SB> ddddd <EB><CR>

Where, <SB> means the start of the message and is <VT> in ASCII, that is 0x0B.

<EB> means the end of the message and is <FS> in ASCII, that is 0x1C.

<CR> acts as acknowledgement of message end and is used to separate different

messages, that is, 0x0D.

ddddd means what to be transferred and includes multiple segments, each of which
ends with <CR>, that is, 0x0D.

The following lines list multiple message examples of the HL7 protocol.

1. The chemistry analyzer sends test results to the LIS host by samples, that
is, all tests of a sample are transferred via one message. The LIS host
responses accordingly when receiving the message.

An ORU message may include the following segments: MSH, PID, OBR and OBX
(multiple OBX segments may be contained if a sample has more than one test).MSH,
standing for message header, is included in each message and in the format of: (The
words in brackets are for explanation and not the segments)

24
MSH|^~\&|Mindray(Manufacturer)|BS-400(Device model)|||20070423101830(System
date/time, yyyymmddhhMMss)||ORU^R01(Message type)|1(Control ID, used to
identify the message and increases from 1)|P(Fixed value, means the
product)|2.3.1(Version of HL7 protocol)||||0(0 for sample test result, 1 for calibration
result, 2 for QC result, void for others)||ASCII(Character set)|||

Note: In all message examples, if the time segment is of 14 digits, it means

YYYYMMDDHHMMSS; if the time segment is of 8 digits, it means YYYYMMDD.

There is a patient, who has the following information:

Field Value
Name of patient Mike
Sex of patient Male
Birth date October 1, 1985
Sample bar code 12345678
Sample type Serum
Sample ID 10
STAT Yes
Test No. 2, 5, 6
Test name TBil, ALT, AST
Test results 100, 98.2, 26.4
Result units umol/L, umol/L, umol/L

The BS-400/BS-420 sends the test results to LIS via ORU^R01 message as follows:

25
When receiving the message, the LIS host first judges the legality and type of the
message and then replies accordingly. The following is a standard reply by LIS.

If error is included in the ORU message, it can be returned in the MSA segment, and
the BS-400/BS-420 will handle it properly and trigger alarms. When a reject error of
206 occurs on the LIS host, the ACK message for reply is as follows:

2. The chemistry analyzer sends calibration results to the LIS host, that is, all
calibration tests of a test are transferred via one ORU message.

The segments and their meanings in ORU message for calibration result transfer are
significantly different from that for sample test result transfer. The former ORU
message only includes two segments: MSH and OBR.

For example: A calibration test is requested as follows.

Field Value
Test No. 6
Test name ASO
Calibration method Spline
Calibrator No. 1, 2, 3

26
 Name of calibrator WATER, CALIB1, CALIB2
Lot No. of calibrator 1111, 2222, 3333
Expiration date of calibrator January 1, 2030; January 1, 2030;
January 1, 2030;
Standard concentration of 0, 2, 3
calibrator
Concentration level of calibrator Low(L), Low(L), Low(L)
Response 797.329332, 843.143762,
1073.672512
Calibration parameters (RO, a, b, 797.329332, 22.907215,
c) -69.207178, 34.603589 and
843.143762, 161.321571,
138.414356, -69.207178

The BS-400/BS-420 sends the test results to LIS via ORU^R01 message as follows:

The LIS host replies as follows:

27
3. The chemistry analyzer sends QC test results to the LIS host. On the
BS-400/BS-420, each day-to-day QC test result is sent via one message,
and multiple real-time and daily QC results of a test are sent via one
message.

The ORU message for QC result transfer is similar to that for calibration result in
segments and meanings.

For example: A QC test is requested as follows.

Field Value
Test No. 7
Test name AST
Control No. 1, 2
Control name QUAL1, QUAL2
Lot No. of control 1111, 2222
Expiration date of control January 1, 2030; January 1, 2030
Concentration level of control Low(L), High(H)
Mean value (mean concentration) 45, 55
Standard deviation of control 5, 5
Test result (concentration) 0.130291, 0.137470

The BS-400/BS-420 sends the test results to LIS via ORU^R01 message as follows:

28
 The LIS host replies as follows:

4. The BS-400/BS-420 sends query request to the LIS host, and also
downloads sample information, patient demographics and test information
of specified bar code from LIS.

For example: To download a sample of 0019(bar code) from LIS, the BS-400/BS-420
sends a QRY^Q02 message as follows:

When receiving the message, the LIS returns the QCK^Q02 message and replies as
follows if the sample of the bar code exists:

29
If the sample of the bar code does not exist, the LIS replies as follows:

When the sample of the specified bar code exists on LIS, the LIS returns the
QCK^Q02 message and sends the data message DSR^Q03, which contains the
patient demographics, sample and test information.

Field Value
Name of patient Tommy
Sex of patient Male
Birth date August 24, 1962
Blood type of patient O
Patient type Outpatient
Payment type of patient Self-pay
Patient ID 1212
Bed No. 27
Sample bar code 0019
Sample ID 3
Sample receiving date/time 18:35 March 1, 2007
STAT No
Sample type Serum
Sending doctor Mary
Sending department Dept1
Test No. 1, 2, 5

The DSR^Q03 message is as follows:

30
31
No DSR message will be sent if a QCK^Q02 message has been sent indicating no
corresponding sample on LIS.

When receiving the DSR message, the BS-400/BS-420 replies as follows:

5. The BS-400/BS-420 sends group query request to LIS for downloading all
or latest samples of the current day.

32
The two query modes are distinguished by the time period. See the table below.

Query Mode Start Time End Time

All samples of current day 0 o’clock of current day System time
when the query is
sent
Latest samples of current End time of the latest query System time
day when the query is
sent

For example: A group query is sent to LIS at 15:00 on March 20, 2007 to download all
samples of the current day. The query message is as follows:

Similarly to single sample query, the LIS host replies accordingly if corresponding
samples exist. If yes, the LIS host sends all qualified samples to the BS-400/BS-420
after returning the query reply. Each sample is transferred via a DSR message, and
the DSC segment of the last DSR message is void, indicating the end of the group
transfer. For example: 3 qualified samples are found on LIS and are as follows:

Field Values of Sample 1 Values of Sample 2 Values of

Sample 3
Name of patient Jacky Jessica Anata
Sex of patient Male Female Female
Birth date February 16, 1972 May 12, 1983 December
12, 1979
Sample bar code 1587120 1587121 1587125
Sample ID 2 3 9
Sample type Serum Plasma Urine
STAT No Yes Yes
No. of included 1, 4 2, 3, 6 8
tests

The DSR messages are as follows:

33
34
35
The BS-400/BS-420 sends back an ACK message to LIS every time when receiving a
DSR message. The ACK messages for the above-mentioned DSR messages are:

36
37
P/N: BA40-20-61339(1.1)