Designation: E 1381 – 95 An American National Standard
Standard Specification for
Low-Level Protocol to Transfer Messages Between Clinical
Laboratory Instruments and Computer Systems
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This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 1381; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope
1.1 This specification describes the electronic transmission
of digital information between clinical laboratory instruments
and computer systems. The clinical laboratory instruments
under consideration are those that measure one or more
parameters from one or more patient samples. Often they will
be automated instruments that measure many parameters from
many patient samples. The computer systems considered here
are those that are configured to accept instrument results for
further processing, storage, reporting, or manipulation. This
instrument output may include patient results, quality control
results, and other related information. Typically, the computer
system will be a Laboratory Information Management System
(LIMS).
1.2 The terminology of the Organization for International
Standards (ISO) Reference Model for Open Systems Intercon-
nection (OSI) is generally followed in describing the commu-
nications protocol and services. The electrical and mechanical
connection between instrument and computer is described in
the Physical Layer section. The methods for establishing
communication, error detection, error recovery, and sending
and receiving of messages are described in the Data Link Layer
section. The data link layer interacts with higher layers in terms
of sends and receives “messages,” handles data link connection
and release requests, and reports the data link status.
1.3 Specification E 1394 is concerned with message content
in the interface between clinical instruments and computer
systems. The major topics are found in the following sections:
Section
Physical Layer 5
Overview 5.1
Electrical Characteristics 5.2
Signal Levels 5.2.1
Character Structure 5.2.2
Speed 5.2.3
Interface Connections 5.2.4
Mechanical Characteristics 5.3
Connector 5.3.1
Cable 5.3.2
Data Link Layer 6
Overview 6.1
Establishment Phase (Link Connection) 6.2
Contention 6.2.1
Transfer Phase 6.3
Frames 6.3.1
Frame Number 6.3.2
Checksum 6.3.3
Acknowledgments 6.3.4
Receiver Interrupts 6.3.5
Termination Phase (Link Release) 6.4
Error Recovery 6.5
Defective Frames 6.5.1
Timeouts 6.5.2
Restricted Message Characters 6.6
2. Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Standards:
E 1394 Specification for Transferring Information Between
Clinical Instruments and Computer Systems
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2.2 ANSI Standards:
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X3.4-1986 American National Standard Code for Informa-
tion Systems—Coded Character Sets—7-Bit American
National Standard Code for Information Interchange (7-
Bit ASCII)
X3.15-1976 American National Standard for Bit Sequenc-
ing of the American National Standard Code for Informa-
tion Interchange in Serial-by-Bit Data Transmission
X3.16-1976 American National Standard Character Struc-
ture and Character Parity Sense for Serial-by-Bit Data
Communication in the American National Standard Code
for Information Interchange
2.3 ISO Standard:
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International Standard ISO 7498-1984(E), Information Pro-
cessing Systems—Open Systems Interconnection—Basic
Reference Model, International Organization for Stan-
dardization
2.4 Other Document:
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EIA-232-D-1986 Interface Between Data Terminal Equip-
ment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing
Serial Binary Data Interchange
3. Terminology
3.1 receiver—the device that responds to the sender and
accepts the message.
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This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E-31 on
Healthcare Informatics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E31.14 on
Clinical Laboratory Instrument Interface.
Current edition approved Oct. 10, 1995. Published January 1996. Originally
published as E 1381 – 91. Last previous edition E 1381 – 91.
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Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.01.
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Available from American National Standards Institute, 11 W. 42nd St., 13th
Floor, New York, NY 10036.
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Available from Electronics Industries Association, 2001 I Street, N.W., Wash-
ington, DC 20006.
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AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM