Connect analyzers with Kashef Connect

What Kashef Connect does

Kashef Connect is a small app for Windows and macOS. Install it on the computer that your analyzers are connected to, by network cable or serial cable. It receives the results each analyzer sends and delivers them to Kashef, which writes each result into its sample's results, ready for the usual review and approval.

Use Kashef Connect when the branch does not run Kashef Local. If the branch already runs Kashef Local, it connects analyzers by itself and you do not need Kashef Connect.

Kashef Connect supports the common analyzer interfaces: ASTM over the network, ASTM over a serial cable, HL7, and result files that the analyzer saves into a folder. For ASTM and HL7 analyzers it can also send each sample's tests to the analyzer, so staff do not type them on the analyzer.

Kashef Connect also prints for the branch: add the label, receipt and A4 printers once, and every computer in the branch can print straight to them from the Kashef print page, without the print dialog.

Before you start

• A computer that stays on during working hours and is connected to the analyzers.
• A branch manager account. Only branch managers can sign Kashef Connect in.
• The analyzer interface settings from the vendor or the analyzer manual: protocol, port, and for serial cables the baud rate, parity, data bits and stop bits.

Install and sign in

1. Open Devices → Kashef Connect and choose Download Kashef Connect.
2. Install it on the analyzer computer and open it.
3. Choose Sign in. Your browser opens the Kashef sign-in page.
4. Sign in with a branch manager account, select the branch where the computer and analyzers are, and confirm.
5. The browser returns to Kashef Connect. The computer now appears on the Kashef Connect page as Online.

Kashef Connect can only send analyzer results for the branch you selected. It cannot open or change any other lab data.

Find and add analyzers

Kashef Connect recognizes most analyzers from the first result or order request they send, shows the analyzer's maker, model and picture, and adds it to Kashef for you.

1. In Kashef Connect, open Find analyzers and click Start looking. It looks for 30 minutes.
2. Connect each analyzer:
   • Network analyzer: in the analyzer's host (LIS) settings, enter the computer address and port that Find analyzers shows, then send a result from the analyzer or re-send the last one.
   • Serial cable analyzer: connect the cable and send a result. Kashef Connect tries the common speeds until it reads the analyzer.
   • Analyzer that saves result files: click Choose a result folder and select the folder it saves to.
   • Analyzer that waits for the host to connect: click Scan the network. Kashef Connect lists the addresses that answer on analyzer ports; choose the model and whether it uses ASTM or HL7.
3. The analyzer appears under Found analyzers. Recognized means Kashef Connect named the model from the analyzer's own message; otherwise choose the model from the list.
4. Click Add analyzer. Your browser opens Kashef: check the model and names, review Analyzer codes to save: exact matches are ticked; tick each similar-name match that is right. Then click Add analyzer. Kashef only sends an analyzer the tests it has a code for, so keep a code for every test the analyzer runs. Only users who can add instruments can approve it.
5. Within a minute the analyzer moves to the Analyzers tab. Results it sent while you were adding it were kept on the computer and are delivered then.
6. Open the analyzer in Devices → Analyzers and review its Analyzer Codes.

Each model shows whether it is Tested with a real analyzer or Not tested with a real analyzer yet. For models that are not tested yet, check the first results on the results sheet carefully. Models marked Not supported yet use their maker's own format, which Kashef cannot read yet; contact Kashef support.

On macOS, port 5000 is used by AirPlay Receiver. If an analyzer must use port 5000, turn off AirPlay Receiver in System Settings, or choose another port on the analyzer.

Assign analyzers to the computer

1. Open Devices → Analyzers, open the analyzer and click Settings.
2. In Connection Settings, set Connected through to the Kashef Connect computer.
3. Choose the Protocol, then fill in the settings it shows:
   • Network (TCP/IP): choose Who starts the connection. Most analyzers connect to Kashef; in that case enter the Port Kashef should listen on and the Analyzer IP Address. Only that address is accepted.
   • Serial cable: enter the Serial Device (for example COM3), Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits and Stop Bits exactly as the analyzer manual says.
   • Result file in a folder: enter the Results Folder where the analyzer saves its CSV or TXT files. After reading a file, Kashef moves it into a processed or failed subfolder. Analyzers that save graphs as image files, such as electrophoresis systems, can use the same folder: name each PNG, JPG or BMP file after the sample barcode, optionally followed by an underscore and the analyzer code (1026101210017_GRAPH.png), and keep the folder's file pattern open to images (for example *.csv;*.png). Images sent inside HL7 or ASTM results are read as well.
4. Save. Kashef Connect picks up the change within a minute.

Choosing the Analyzer model first fills these settings with the ones the model normally uses. Each analyzer is connected through one computer at a time. Leave Connected through empty when Kashef Local receives the analyzer's results.

Send orders to the analyzer

Many analyzers can receive the tests to run from Kashef instead of having them typed on the analyzer. This works for ASTM and HL7 analyzers, through Kashef Connect or Kashef Local.

1. Open Devices → Analyzers, open the analyzer and click Settings.
2. In Connection Settings, turn on Send orders to analyzer.
3. Choose How the analyzer gets its orders:
   • The analyzer asks Kashef when it reads a barcode: the usual setup. When the analyzer reads a tube barcode, it asks for that sample's tests and Kashef answers at once.
   • Kashef sends the orders of samples routed to this analyzer: for analyzers that expect the host to send the worklist. Once a sample assigned to this analyzer is received, Kashef sends its tests while the analyzer is connected.
4. If the analyzer manual gives a shorter waiting time for host answers, enter it in Order answer time limit (seconds). Leave it empty to use 10 seconds.
5. Save, then turn on host query or worklist download in the analyzer's own interface settings, as the analyzer manual describes.

Kashef sends only the tests of the sample that this analyzer runs (its Supported Tests, using the same test codes as its results) and that are not approved yet. It looks for the barcode only among your lab's samples. Samples that are rejected, released, stored or disposed get no order.

If the analyzer asks for a sample that has no tests for it, or Kashef cannot answer in time, for example while the internet is down, the analyzer is told there is no order. Run the tests by entering them on the analyzer, or ask again once the connection is back. Results are still received and saved as usual.

Check that it works

Run a sample on the analyzer and send the result. Within a few seconds the value appears on the sample's results sheet with an analyzer icon beside it, and the analyzer's Activity tab shows the message. If Kashef does not know the analyzer's code for that test, the result waits in the analyzer's Needs attention tab: use Match to test once, and that result and every later one go straight to their samples. See Analyzer results.

The Kashef Connect page shows each computer with:

Column	Meaning
Status	Online when the computer reported in the last minute and a half, Offline when it has not, Signed out after someone signed it out.
Analyzers	The analyzers connected through this computer.
Needs attention	Results from these analyzers that are not on a sample yet.
Waiting to send	Results the computer received but has not delivered yet.
Version	The installed Kashef Connect version and operating system.
Last seen	When the computer last reported.

Record an analyzer's traffic for support

When an analyzer's results arrive wrong, Kashef support may ask for a recording of what the analyzer sends.

1. In Kashef Connect, open Analyzers and click Record traffic on the analyzer. It records for 10 minutes; click Stop recording to end sooner.
2. Run a few samples on the analyzer while it records.
3. Under Traffic recordings, click Preview to see exactly what the recording contains, then Share with Kashef and say what support should look at.

Kashef Connect masks patient names, IDs, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers and comments on the computer before anything is shared; sample barcodes, test codes and values stay so support can see what the analyzer sent. Only Kashef support can open shared recordings. Delete a recording from the computer when it is no longer needed.

Set up printers

Add each printer the branch prints on, so people can choose it under Print in Kashef and print without the print dialog. See Printing.

1. Install the printer and its driver on the Kashef Connect computer, by USB or on the network, and check that it prints.
2. In Kashef Connect, open Printers and click Add printer.
3. Choose what it Prints: Barcode labels, Thermal receipts, A4 documents, A4 landscape documents or Other paper. Kashef Connect fills in the paper size and options that match Kashef's own prints, for example 50 × 25 mm labels or an 80 mm receipt roll.
4. Under Connection, choose the printer from Installed on this computer. For a network printer that is not installed on the computer, choose Network address and enter its IP address; use IPP unless the printer's manual says it prints PDF on port 9100.
5. Check the Paper width and Paper height against the roll or paper in the printer. Use a height of 0 for a continuous receipt roll.
6. Click Save printer, then Test page. The test page draws a frame on the margins with the paper size, so you can see whether the paper and alignment are right.

If the printer cuts off an edge, add Margins: Kashef shrinks the document into them. If the print lands off-centre or runs off the label, use Position adjustment (printers installed on Windows): enter how many millimetres to Move right (a negative number moves left) and Move down (a negative number moves up), then print a test page again until the frame sits inside the label. Set Size to Fit to paper when the paper differs from the document, Copies for more than one copy, and Two-sided for A4 printers that print on both sides.

Kashef shows the printers within a few seconds, only to users of this branch. Recent prints lists the last 10 prints on this computer and why a print failed; click Refresh to update it, or Clear to empty it. If Kashef Connect does not collect a print within 2 minutes, or a print takes longer than the printer's Timeout (seconds), the print fails and the print page in Kashef says why, so nothing prints long after it was needed and a stuck printer never holds up the next print. Keep the Kashef Connect computer on while the branch prints.

A branch can run Kashef Connect on several computers, for example at reception and in the lab, each with its own printers. Give each computer a clear Computer name when you sign in: people choose the computer by that name on the print page, and each print goes to the computer that has the chosen printer.

To try printing without a printer, add a printer and choose Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows. Kashef Connect saves each print as a PDF in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Kashef Connect instead of printing it; labels and receipts keep their exact size. Click the file name under Recent prints to open the folder.

The Print log tab lists every step of every print: received from Kashef, downloaded, sent to the printer, and the result reported back to Kashef. Use Errors only to find why a print failed, and share it with Kashef support if you need help. Clear empties the log.

Kashef Connect keeps a live connection to Kashef, so a print starts the moment someone chooses the printer, and the Printers tab shows Live: prints arrive instantly. If the live connection drops, Kashef Connect checks Kashef for prints every 2 seconds until it reconnects, so printing keeps working.

On Windows, Kashef Connect prints to printers installed for all users of the computer. A printer added only to one Windows user's account does not appear in the list.

When the internet drops

Kashef Connect saves every result on the computer before it confirms it to the analyzer, so no result is lost when the internet or Kashef is unavailable. It keeps the results in Waiting to send and delivers them automatically, in order and only once, as soon as the connection returns. Keep the computer on until Waiting to send goes back to zero.

Sign a computer out

On the Kashef Connect page choose Sign out on the computer's row. It stops sending results at once. Use this when a computer is replaced, lost, or should no longer send results. Results still waiting on that computer stay there and are sent after a branch manager signs in again. Choose another computer in each of its analyzers' Settings.

Fixing common problems

• The computer shows Offline: check that it is switched on, Kashef Connect is running, and the computer has internet access.
• No results arrive from a network analyzer: check the port and analyzer IP address in the analyzer's Settings, and that the computer firewall allows the port. Confirm with the vendor whether the analyzer or the host starts the connection.
• No results arrive from a serial analyzer: check the serial device name and that baud rate, parity, data bits and stop bits match the analyzer exactly.
• Result files stay in the folder or move to failed: check the folder path and that the file uses the expected columns, then open the analyzer's Activity tab for the reason.
• Results wait in Needs attention: use Match to test on the result, or Suggest codes in the analyzer's Analyzer Codes.
• A found analyzer shows "Format not readable": the analyzer sends records without the ASTM or MLLP framing. Turn on ASTM E1381 (or MLLP for HL7) in its host settings, or contact Kashef support with the excerpt shown on the card.
• Find analyzers says the port is used by another program: close the other program, or on macOS turn off AirPlay Receiver when the port is 5000.
• The analyzer says there is no order for a sample: check that Send orders to analyzer is on, that the barcode on the tube matches the sample in Kashef, that the sample's tests have analyzer codes on this analyzer and are not approved yet, and that Kashef Connect shows Online. The analyzer's Activity tab says exactly why each request got no tests, and its Overview lists tests the analyzer asked for that have no code yet.
• Orders are not sent in "Kashef sends the orders" mode: check that the sample is assigned to this analyzer for processing and has been received, and that the analyzer is connected.
• A printer shows "Not found on this computer": the printer was renamed or removed in the computer's printer settings. Reinstall it, or edit the printer in Kashef Connect and choose it again.
• Labels print too small, rotated or across two labels: check Paper width and Paper height against the label roll, set Orientation to Automatic and Size to Actual size, and print a test page.
• The print runs off one side of the label: print a test page, measure how far the frame is from where it should be, and enter it in Position adjustment. For example, if the left of the frame is cut off by 5 mm, set Move right to 5.