Lab diagnostics –
in plain English.

The biological sample – whether blood, saliva, urine, or stool – is the physical carrier of all diagnostic information. To keep results meaningful, it must be collected correctly, stored stably, and transported quickly to the lab. Probatix orchestrates this entire path: from at-home collection to sample receipt at the accredited laboratory.

Capillary blood comes from the fine vessels just under the skin – usually at the fingertip or upper arm. The method is nearly painless, requires only a few drops, and is therefore ideal for home sampling. Modern microsampling devices such as Tasso+ and TAP Micro Select rely on capillary blood.

Venous blood is drawn from an arm vein with a cannula and provides the highest sample volume and standardisation. It is the standard in medical practices and MVZs and wherever tests require large volumes or specific serum properties. Probatix integrates venous-blood workflows seamlessly into its digital platform.

Saliva samples are particularly well-suited for hormone testing – such as diurnal cortisol profiles – and genetic analyses. Collection is non-invasive and easily done at home. In the Probatix stack, a saliva sample runs through the same logistics and result pipeline as a blood sample.

Tasso+ is a microsampling device that is placed on the upper arm and collects capillary blood almost painlessly. It enables end users to obtain a standardised blood sample at home, without trained staff. Probatix uses Tasso+ as one of the core devices for its home-sampling workflows.

TAP Micro Select is a second microsampling device for capillary blood collection at the upper arm. It combines a micro-needle array with a vacuum mechanism and delivers a reproducible sample volume for lab analysis. A proven alternative to Tasso+ – both are integrated into the Probatix platform.

In the Dried Blood Spot process, drops of capillary blood are placed on a specialised filter card and dried. Dried blood is stable at room temperature for days – ideal for postal shipping without a cold chain. DBS makes home sampling especially robust against transit delays and temperature fluctuations.

Home sampling refers to sample collection by the end user themselves – at home rather than in a practice or lab. The user receives a test kit by mail, collects the sample, and sends it back to the lab. Probatix handles the entire home-sampling process as an integrated service, including dispatch, logistics, and tracking.

An accredited laboratory has been audited by an official body (in Germany: DAkkS) for technical competence and quality standards. The most important accreditation for medical laboratories is ISO 15189. Probatix works exclusively with ISO-15189-accredited partner laboratories.

ISO 15189 is the international standard for quality and competence in medical laboratories. It covers sample handling, equipment, personnel, procedure validation, and reporting. All Probatix partner laboratories are accredited to ISO 15189.

ISO 13485 is the standard for quality management systems of medical-device manufacturers – including test kits and IVD devices. It covers design, production, risk management, and traceability. Probatix designs and operates its kit and platform processes to ISO 13485.

ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security management systems. It addresses technical and organisational safeguards for sensitive data – particularly relevant for health data. The Probatix platform is ISO-27001 certified.

The General Data Protection Regulation has governed the handling of personal data across the EU since 2018. For health data, particularly strict requirements apply under Art. 9 GDPR. Probatix processes all data in a GDPR-compliant way and supports partners with data-processing agreements and data flows.

A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is a laboratory’s software backbone. It manages sample intake, analysis workflows, instrument connectivity, and result output. Probatix integrates with its partner labs’ LIMS via standardised interfaces, so order, sample, and result stay connected end-to-end.

Time-to-result is the interval between sample receipt at the lab and report delivery to the end user. It is a key quality marker for modern diagnostics – the shorter, the better for user experience. Probatix delivers results for most tests in under 48 hours.