Barcode Scanners

ClinSpark treats barcode scanners as a keyboard wedge, therefore no specialized software is required. Included below are a number of scanners that we know to work well with ClinSpark.

Scanners must be configured to terminate with a line break to work properly with ClinSpark.

Symbol DS4608-HC Series

Manufacturers product page.

We have not evaluated or tested this scanner at this time.

Symbol LS4208

Customers have had good results with the Symbol LS4208. We have seen these wired USB scanners work well with a variety of our customer hardware configurations, barcode labels, and computing environments.

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Symbol LS2208

We have also seen some use of the Symbol LS2208, but to a lesser extent. The LS2208 does not perform as well with certain barcode labels printed in a small and narrow configuration, and thus is not our primary recommendation.

Configuring the LS4208 and LS2208 for ClinSpark

Symbol scanners must be configured to insert a termination character upon scan.

LS4208

• Download the LS4208 Quick Reference Guide (below)

• Reference page 7 and and page 11.

• Scan the ‘Set Defaults’ code from page 7.

• Scan the ‘SCAN OPTIONS’ from page 11.

• Scan the ‘ENTER’ from page 11.

• Scanner should beep differently and now be configured for use with ClinSpark barcodes.

LS2208

• Refer to the link above for the LS4208 Quick Reference Guide (below).

• Reference page 7 and and page 11.

• Scan the ‘Set Defaults’ barcode from page 7.

• Scan the ‘SCAN OPTIONS’ barcode from page 11.

• Scan the ‘’ barcode from page 11.

• Scan the ‘ENTER’ barcode from page 11.

• Scanner should beep differently and now be configured for use with ClinSpark barcodes.

Bluetooth

Foundry Health IQVIA does not use wireless scanners during the development and testing of ClinSpark. We generally have not found them as reliable as their wired USB counterparts.

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• Wireless scanners take additional time to set up with paired equipment

• Wireless scanners need to be charged

• Wireless scanners have more points of failure than wired

• If customers are using (or interested in using) a wireless barcode scanner with ClinSpark, please reach out to us and let us know about your experience.

Stationary Scanners

Some customers have inquired about the use of stationary scanners, perhaps in situations where there could be a concern with staff inverting an already-centrifuged tube in order to scan with a handheld scanner.

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If selecting a non-Zebra (or Motorola) branded device, it’s important to check to make sure it will fit the size and dimensions of whatever scanner is being used.

QWERTY and AZERTY

Certain barcodes configurations that create printed labels require that scanners are set to scan in a ‘QWERTY’ keyboard layout in order to scan the labels properly. QWERTY keyboard layout ensures that scanned barcodes are properly input into ClinSpark, especially when barcodes are produced of a certain character length and delimiters. Scanners that are set to AZERTY keyboard configurations often have issues properly scanning barcodes for input and use in ClinSpark. It is key to match the locale settings of your scanner with your computer keyboard. Ensure that Caps Lock is off at all times when scanning.

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We most commonly see our customers using both data entry computers and scanner configurations that match QWERTY keyboard layouts. Ensuring that the same layout match between keyboard layout and their barcode scanner configurations will also help reduce the chances of barcode scanning issues.

Notes on Foot Pedals

Occasionally customers will ask us about using USB foot pedals with ClinSpark in lieu of a mouse (or other input peripherals) such as a laboratory settings, to improve workflows.

The Foundry Health IQVIA team is familiar with foot pedals and their intended use. However, we instead decided to add logic in certain workflows to allow a barcode scanner to serve as the primary input and act in a fashion to keep data collectors ‘hands free’. Here are a few examples:

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Those are just a few of the areas we’ve considered. Our goal in ClinSpark is for users to leverage the scanner as much as possible for the best possible user experience in context of various workflows as a way to make a foot pedal not necessary.

Troubleshooting

When If your scanner doesn’t seem to work in Clinspark with ClinSpark, a good first step would be to try & to scan the barcode in a text editor, like notepad. A more advanced editor like Notepad++ comes in handy to detect the correct characters.

The procedure would be as follows:

• Open Notepad++

• In Notepad++ go to View > Show Symbol > Show All Characters:

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  Scan a barcode

• The result should look like this:

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• The cursor is on the next line, and that the CR LF (Carriage Return, Line Feed) special characters are placed after the barcode. If that is not the case, re-check the steps at the section Configuring the LS4208 and LS2208 for ClinSpark

• Characters match the case (F instead of f), and that dashes and numbers are displayed correctly. If that is not the case, re-check the steps at the section QWERTY and AZERTY

• Clinspark ClinSpark expects the barcode to come in about 400msec from start to end. If the barcode is appearing appears very slowly in Notepad++ notoriously slow, check the connection or try another scanner.

A One last thing to try, is entering the barcode manually in Clinspark ClinSpark using Chrome Developer tools & and the barcodeListenCallback() function. Clinspark ClinSpark should then behave similarly as if the barcode was processed.

• Open ClinsparkClinSpark, and navigate to the dashboard.

• Open up Chrome Developer tools

• Go to the Console

• Ignore possible warnings in the console, and type on the last line, after the > the following: barcodeListenCallback("S1"). Replace S1 with the barcode you actually want to try/enter.

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  Press enter. Clinkspark ClinSpark will now execute that barcode, as when it would scan with a barcode scanner.

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