Specimen Temperature Detection on a Clinical Laboratory Pre-Analytic Automation Track: Implications for Direct-from-Track Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-299
Author(s):  
Caleb S. Roundy ◽  
David C. Lin ◽  
Paul J. Klopping ◽  
Ammon T. Ence ◽  
Anthony C. Krezel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Laser Sensor ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Specimen Temperature ◽  
Temperature Detection ◽  
Temperature Detector ◽  
Total Laboratory Automation

Clinical laboratory regulations require temperature monitoring of facilities, reagent and specimen storage, as well as temperature-dependent equipment. Real-time specimen temperature detection has not yet been integrated into total laboratory automation (TLA) solutions. An infrared (IR) pyrometer was paired with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) laser sensor and connected to an embedded networked personal computer (PC) to create a modular temperature detection unit for closed, moving clinical laboratory specimens. Accuracy of the detector was assessed by comparing temperature measurements to those obtained from thermocouples connected to battery-operated data loggers. The temperature detector was then installed on a pre-analytic laboratory automation system to assess specimen temperature before and after processing on an integrated thawing and mixing (T/M) robotic workcell. The IR temperature detector was able to accurately record temperature of closed, moving specimens on a pre-analytic automation system. The effectiveness of the T/M workcell was independently verified using the temperature detector. Specimen reroute on the pre-analytic automation track was identified as a potential risk for frozen specimens being inadvertently delivered to future, connected instrumentation. Automated IR temperature detection can be used to verify specimen temperature prior to instrument loading and/or sampling. Such systems could be used to prevent frozen specimens from being inadvertently loaded onto analytical instrumentation in TLA solutions.

scholarly journals Laboratory Automation: Trajectory, Technology, and Tactics

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 764-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney S Markin ◽  
Scott A Whalen
Keyword(s):  
Process Control ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Computer Integrated Manufacturing ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
In Vitro Diagnostics ◽  
Laboratory Services ◽  
Automation Technology

Abstract Laboratory automation is in its infancy, following a path parallel to the development of laboratory information systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Changes on the horizon in healthcare and clinical laboratory service that affect the delivery of laboratory results include the increasing age of the population in North America, the implementation of the Balanced Budget Act (1997), and the creation of disease management companies. Major technology drivers include outcomes optimization and phenotypically targeted drugs. Constant cost pressures in the clinical laboratory have forced diagnostic manufacturers into less than optimal profitability states. Laboratory automation can be a tool for the improvement of laboratory services and may decrease costs. The key to improvement of laboratory services is implementation of the correct automation technology. The design of this technology should be driven by required functionality. Automation design issues should be centered on the understanding of the laboratory and its relationship to healthcare delivery and the business and operational processes in the clinical laboratory. Automation design philosophy has evolved from a hardware-based approach to a software-based approach. Process control software to support repeat testing, reflex testing, and transportation management, and overall computer-integrated manufacturing approaches to laboratory automation implementation are rapidly expanding areas. It is clear that hardware and software are functionally interdependent and that the interface between the laboratory automation system and the laboratory information system is a key component. The cost-effectiveness of automation solutions suggested by vendors, however, has been difficult to evaluate because the number of automation installations are few and the precision with which operational data have been collected to determine payback is suboptimal. The trend in automation has moved from total laboratory automation to a modular approach, from a hardware-driven system to process control, from a one-of-a-kind novelty toward a standardized product, and from an in vitro diagnostics novelty to a marketing tool. Multiple vendors are present in the marketplace, many of whom are in vitro diagnostics manufacturers providing an automation solution coupled with their instruments, whereas others are focused automation companies. Automation technology continues to advance, acceptance continues to climb, and payback and cost justification methods are developing.

scholarly journals Clinical Microbiology Is Growing Up: The Total Laboratory Automation Revolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam L Bailey ◽  
Nathan Ledeboer ◽  
Carey-Ann D Burnham
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Clinical Microbiology ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Clinical Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Microbiology Laboratory ◽  
Total Laboratory Automation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Automated Methods

Abstract BACKGROUND Historically, culture-based microbiology laboratory testing has relied on manual methods, and automated methods (such as those that have revolutionized clinical chemistry and hematology over the past several decades) were largely absent from the clinical microbiology laboratory. However, an increased demand for microbiology testing and standardization of sample-collection devices for microbiology culture, as well as a dwindling supply of microbiology technologists, has driven the adoption of automated methods for culture-based laboratory testing in clinical microbiology. CONTENT We describe systems currently enabling total laboratory automation (TLA) for culture-based microbiology testing. We describe the general components of a microbiology automation system and the various functions of these instruments. We then introduce the 2 most widely used systems currently on the market: Becton Dickinson's Kiestra TLA and Copan's WASPLab. We discuss the impact of TLA on metrics such as turnaround time and recovery of microorganisms, providing a review of the current literature and perspectives from laboratory directors, managers, and technical staff. Finally, we provide an outlook for future advances in TLA for microbiology with a focus on artificial intelligence for automated culture interpretation. SUMMARY TLA is playing an increasingly important role in clinical microbiology. Although challenges remain, TLA has great potential to affect laboratory efficiency, turnaround time, and the overall quality of culture-based microbiology testing.

scholarly journals The Role of Total Laboratory Automation in a Consolidated Laboratory Network

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 751-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S Seaberg ◽  
Robert O Stallone ◽  
Bernard E Statland
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
The Core ◽  
The North ◽  
Laboratory Network ◽  
Automation Systems ◽  
Total Laboratory Automation

Abstract Background: In an effort to reduce overall laboratory costs and improve overall laboratory efficiencies at all of its network hospitals, the North Shore–Long Island Health System recently established a Consolidated Laboratory Network with a Core Laboratory at its center. Methods: We established and implemented a centralized Core Laboratory designed around the Roche/Hitachi CLAS Total Laboratory Automation system to perform the general and esoteric laboratory testing throughout the system in a timely and cost-effective fashion. All remaining STAT testing will be performed within the Rapid Response Laboratories (RRLs) at each of the system’s hospitals. Results: Results for this laboratory consolidation and implementation effort demonstrated a decrease in labor costs and improved turnaround time (TAT) at the core laboratory. Anticipated system savings are ∼$2.7 million. TATs averaged 1.3 h within the Core Laboratory and less than 30 min in the RRLs. Conclusions: When properly implemented, automation systems can reduce overall laboratory expenses, enhance patient services, and address the overall concerns facing the laboratory today: job satisfaction, decreased length of stay, and safety. The financial savings realized are primarily a result of labor reductions.

scholarly journals Nonanalytic Laboratory Automation: A Quarter Century of Progress

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1074-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D Hawker
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Sample Processing ◽  
Laboratory Sample ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Single Function ◽  
Automation Systems ◽  
Total Laboratory Automation ◽  
Manual Processing

Abstract Clinical laboratory automation has blossomed since the 1989 AACC meeting, at which Dr. Masahide Sasaki first showed a western audience what his laboratory had implemented. Many diagnostics and other vendors are now offering a variety of automated options for laboratories of all sizes. Replacing manual processing and handling procedures with automation was embraced by the laboratory community because of the obvious benefits of labor savings and improvement in turnaround time and quality. Automation was also embraced by the diagnostics vendors who saw automation as a means of incorporating the analyzers purchased by their customers into larger systems in which the benefits of automation were integrated to the analyzers. This report reviews the options that are available to laboratory customers. These options include so called task-targeted automation—modules that range from single function devices that automate single tasks (e.g., decapping or aliquoting) to multifunction workstations that incorporate several of the functions of a laboratory sample processing department. The options also include total laboratory automation systems that use conveyors to link sample processing functions to analyzers and often include postanalytical features such as refrigerated storage and sample retrieval. Most importantly, this report reviews a recommended process for evaluating the need for new automation and for identifying the specific requirements of a laboratory and developing solutions that can meet those requirements. The report also discusses some of the practical considerations facing a laboratory in a new implementation and reviews the concept of machine vision to replace human inspections.

scholarly journals Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi Bring CLAS to the Clinical Laboratory

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Author(s):  
Craig Turtle
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Test Tube ◽  
Automation System ◽  
Laboratory Information System ◽  
Laboratory Automation ◽  
Walk Away ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Integrated Automation ◽  
Software Interface

The Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi CLAS (Clinical Laboratory Automation System) offers a fully integrated automation solution for the clinical laboratory. CLAS incorporates walk-away automation of the mechanical steps of test tube handling, as well as a complete software interface to the laboratory information system.

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