Hospital pneumatic tube systems are reliable, powerful and efficient transport options for physical objects of any kind. For example, they transport blood units, tissue samples, urine specimens, COVID-19 samples, injections or medications. The use of pneumatic tubes in hospitals saves valuable time and human resources.
Our pneumatic tube solutions are specially designed for use in healthcare facilities. To protect sensitive loads, we offer gentle receiving equipment and a special transport container for use in laboratories. When transporting blood products, we take the weight, transport time, hemolysis, and centrifugal and acceleration forces into account in the design. Particularly time-critical goods – for example, tissue samples from an operation – can be shipped with priority.
Thanks to our numerous tracking solutions, you are always informed about the whereabouts of shipped items and monitor the performance of the system. So you are on the safe side with your internal transport.
Streamline your hospital processes and save time for what really matters: the patients.
Optimize your hospital logistics through pneumatic systems in laboratories, pharmacy and at hospital wards
- Transport speed from 3 to 6 meters/second
- Average transport time for pharmaceutical goods comes to 2-3 minutes
- More efficient use of laboratory equipment thanks to continuous workflow
- Prompt and error-free delivery of test results, reports, etc.
- Reduction of a possible spread of bacteria or viruses following less movement of sick patients and less crowding at clinics
- Safe management of contaminated specimens or samples
- Prevention of cross-contamination thanks to safety and hygiene
- Sterility
- Sick patients do not have to walk to the blood collection room
- Improvement of patient satisfaction and consequently hospital reputation
- Faster throughput time of laboratory testing minimizes crowding at clinics
- One-stop service with connections to laboratory and central pharmacy
- 24/7 operation and thus speedy 24/7 transportation within the hospital
- Spontaneous transport – just in time and immediately when required
- Fast link of patient areas with laboratory and pharmacy
- No use of valuable floor space thanks to installation of the transport system in the ceiling
- Better management of facilities reduces operational costs
Improved turnaround time
Typical transportation routes of pneumatic tube systems in hospitals
| Transport of | From | To |
| Blood specimens, blood cultures, swabs, urine samples, stools etc. | Outpatient clinics, wards, ICU, OT etc. | Laboratory, pathology |
| Prescription (Rx), drugs, medicines | Pharmacy | Inpatient wards, ICU, operating theatres, outpatient area |
| Documents, test reports, forms, X-rays etc. | Registration area, medical record, personnel, mail room etc. | Various departments |
Typical transport volume in hospitals
| Size of the hospital by number of hospital beds | Number of air tube system stations (typically) | Average number of carrier sendings per day | Total carrier travel distance per day | Total carrier travel distance per year |
| 250 | 15-20 | 600+ | 90 km | 30.000 km |
| 500 | 30-40 | 1500+ | 225 km | 70.000 km |
| 1000 | 60-80 | 2500+ | 375 km | 115.000 km |
| 1500 | 100-120 | 3500+ | 525 km | 160.000 km |
Laboratory stations: Perfectly matched for use in laboratories
Every hospital and laboratory is different. It is critical to keep this in mind when selecting pneumatic tube components. Choosing an appropriate station significantly improves the workflow of laboratory personnel. The efficiency of maintenance and repair work is also increased by a considered selection. We therefore offer a wide range of special laboratory stations. They are designed for use in laboratories, pharmacies and hospitals. Of course, we are available to advise you on the design of the stations with our decades of experience.
Brochure Lab Stations
100% more throughput
Focusing on one function – sending or receiving – significantly improves throughput. Installing a send-only station and a receive-only station instead of a combined station results in more throughput and makes the system less error-prone.
Send every 10 seconds
Multicarry stations can move more than one container at a time in a pipe line. Depending on the station design, our multicarry stations dispatch containers at 10-second intervals. Multicarry receiving stations buffer up to seven incoming transports.
Parallel input
Multi-send stations enable parallel input of several containers into one station. Employees do not have to wait until the previous container has left before making another entry.
Gentle transport
By offering different receiving units, we optimize the use of the stations. You can choose from the following options: Reception bow, reception ramp or reception conveyor belt.
Seamless integration
You can choose from three different housing options for our laboratory stations: No housing, Hörtig housing, or a custom carpentered housing.
Automatization and tracking
All our Laboratory Send-Stations have RFID readers integrated by default. Carriers thus move off automatically and are tracked. Our Laboratory Receive-Stations can be optionally equipped with RFID readers.
Examples of pneumatic tube installations in hospitals and laboratories
Laboratory pneumatic tube system for sending and receiving of samples
Pneumatic tube system for laboratory with conveyor belt for a smooth reception of samples
Conveyor belt in the lab on which carriers wait for their unloading
Reception in a hospital: Dispatching of items for patients
Send-Station with connected information display
Touchscreen with information of all transports
Transfer revolver for the distribution and prioritization of transports
Double-Sending-Station with 10” touch panel for optimal usability
Carriers for hospitals and hospital laboratorys
Laboratory carrier specially designed to meet the requirements of hospitals and hospital laboratories:
- Leak-proof, even under pressure
- Very easy handling
- Complementary inserts for different samples
- Temperature insulated
- Seamless tracking with RFID
Perfectly fitted to the use with:
- Cytostatic drugs
- In vitro fertilization
- Blood products
- Laboratory samples
More information can be found in the brochure. A selection of our other carriers is shown within the section “Carriers”.
Sending cytostatic drugs: Integrated solution for optimized protection
When sending cytostatic drugs, one thing is particularly important: the hazardous substance must not leak.
To ensure this, we offer an integrated solution for sending cytostatic drugs by pneumatic tube system. This consists of the leak-proof laboratory carrier and a special cytostatic drugs station.
You can find out more about our cytostatic drugs solution in the brochure available for download on the right.
HEPA filters for a clean air
Especially in operating rooms, intensive care units and laboratories, it is important to keep the air free of particles. For this reason, we offer the initial or subsequent installation of HEPA filters for our pneumatic tube systems. HEPA filters (High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) can filter at least 99.95% of all dust particles larger than 0.1-0.3 micrometers from the air. This includes, for example, viruses, bacteria and aerosols. The installation of the filters in the system reduces the number of particles that can enter medical areas from technical areas via pneumatic tube. In this way, we protect the health of hospital staff and patients.
To ensure that the filter is working optimally, we offer the installation of sensors. These report the maintenance status of the filter to our RT-Win 4 pneumatic tube software.
Colour Coding of Carriers
Due to the colour coding of the carriers of your pneumatic tube system, they automatically travel to your specific destination when entered into the station. For example, in the case of laboratory transports, all red carriers can automatically travel to the laboratory and then back to your home station. This speeds up the process of sending pneumatic tube carriers, as the sending process is simpler, thus optimizing existing workflows and also preventing cross-contamination.
Learn more about Colour Coding of pneumatic tube carriers!
MiFare Technology for more safety
To send important medications from the pharmacy to individual wards or cytostatics by pneumatic tube, it is important to make the pneumatic tube system as secure as possible. Many of our pneumatic tube stations can be equipped with MiFare technology for this purpose. This can prevent improper handling. In addition, the shipment data is logged more accurately, which means that any faults can be rectified quickly.
Learn more about the MiFare Technology!
Our pneumatic tube systems for hospitals
Smart pneumatic tube system
Most hospitals use our PC-controlled H61 system. With a wide range of stations and many smart features, it is powerful, reliable, efficient and intelligent.
For easy requirements in transport
Are you looking for a solution for regular transports between two static locations without branching? For example, from the laboratory to the emergency room and back again? Then the H21 point-to-point system is right for you!
Learn also more about our Carriers and our smart pneumatic tube software!
Why we are the right partner for you clinic
As a company that has specialized in pneumatic tube systems for over 50 years, we are happy to bring our years of experience to your hospital. We know what it takes to design and implement hospital pneumatic tube systems. We are a developer, manufacturer, installer and provider of after-sales services. With our all-round package, we are reliably at your side. If you are interested, we would be happy to send you more details about projects in healthcare facilities.
Selection of hospitals that rely on Hörtig systems
Some of our hospital references
Case: Installation at Chong Hua Hospital
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Do you have a question or are you interested in hospital pneumatic tube systems?
FAQ Pneumatic Tube System Hospital
The costs depend strongly on the size of the respective hospital and the respective facility. The type of wards and their features also influence the level of investment required. However, pneumatic tube systems usually pay for themselves quickly. We will be happy to provide you with a quote based on our current prices.
We know that the transport of samples involves special requirements. It would be unthinkable if a sample taken in an emergency could not be evaluated due to transport. That’s why our pneumatic transport system is run at reduced speed and samples are transported in a leak-proof carrier. For a particularly gentle reception we offer different receiving units. In this way, your samples are also protected during transport.
We offer our systems globally through distributors. Our hospital pts systems are well received not only in EMEA, but also in APAC (e.g. India, Malaysia, Philippines…). Please don’t hesitate to request contact details of our local distributors.
In the hospital, two different categories of objects must be distinguished when it comes to transport speed. Sensitive objects, such as samples and blood, are transported at up to 3 m/s. Less sensitive objects, such as empty carriers, documents or medications can be transported at 6 – 7 m/s.