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Automation
Automation
AUTOMATION
DR.V.G.KARPAGHAVALLI
DEPT OF BIOCHEMISTRY
STANLEY MEDICAL COLLEGE
OBJECTIVES
• Definitions
• Advantages
• History
• Basic concepts
• Steps involved in automation
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Automation
• Automation in clinical chemistry describes the process
where an analytical instrument perform many tests
with only minimal involvement of an analyst.
Advantages
• Handle larger workloads without comparable
increases in staff.
• Instrument performs a repetitive task by itself,
• allows the instrument to perform a variety of different
tasks.
• Intelligent automation allow some individual
instruments to self-monitor and respond appropriately
to changing conditions.
• reduction in the errors of analysis through the
elimination of tasks that are repetitive .
• The improved reproducibility has led to a significant
improvement in the quality of laboratory tests.
• less time consumption per sample analysis,
• more number of tests done in less time,
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Evolution of automation
DATES SAMPLING PROCESSING REACTION COMPUTATION
1901-1950 H H H H
1960-1969 M M M M/A
1970-1979 M M A A
1980 to M/A A A A
present
• H-HUMAN
• M- MECHANISATION
• A- AUTOMATION
History
• 1956- first auto analyser Leonard Skeggs –Glucose,
urea, calcium
• Multichannel system 20 analytes-150samples/hr
• 1959- Robot Chemist discrete analysis
• 1968 -centrifugal analysers for discrete analysis
• 1970 –electronic automation and LIS
• 1980 random access analysers, discrete, STAT,
endpoint ,kinetic assay, photodiode array
• Dry chemistry analysis
• Integrated modular analysers
• Total lab automation
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Terminology
• Single channel analysis
• Multiple channel analysis
• Sequential analysis
• Batch analysis
• Discrete analysis
• Throughput
Basic Concepts
• Automated analyzers generally incorporate
mechanized versions of basic manual
laboratory techniques and procedures.
• modern instrumentation is packaged in a wide
variety of configurations
• random-access analysis
– Analyses are performed on a collection of
specimens sequentially, with each specimen
analyzed for a different selection of tests.
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other configurations
• Continuous- Flow analyzers:-first automated
analyzers used in clinical laboratories.
– Single-channel analysis
– Multiple-channel analysis
• Centrifugal analyzers -use discrete pipetting
to load aliquots of specimens and reagents
sequentially into discrete chambers in a rotor,
with the specimens subsequently analyzed in
parallel .
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1-Specimen Identification
• the identifying link between patient and
specimen is noted at the patient’s bedside,
and maintained throughout
– 1) transport of the specimen to the laboratory,
– 2) subsequent specimen analysis, and
– 3) preparation of a report
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Code 39 allows both the patient’s name and id no in human and machine readable form
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RFID labels
• RFID labels can be encrypted to shield the
encoded data, ensuring that sensitive
information is kept confidential.
2-Specimen Delivery
• Automated methods often used to deliver
specimens to the laboratory include:-
– pneumatic tube systems,
– electric track vehicles, and
– mobile robots.
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Mobile robots
• used successfully to
transport laboratory
specimens both within
the laboratory and
outside the central
• Some mobile robots have
been integrated with
robotic systems that
automate loading and
unloading of specimens
• others initiate an audible
or visual signal on arrival
at a specified station
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3-Specimen Preparation
Conventional • Automation
• The clotting of blood in • Use of whole blood
specimen collection tubes, – For ISE
• their subsequent – Dry reagent films
centrifugation, and • Automated preparation
• the transfer of serum to – Special wheel 2 degree
secondary tubes freedom X and Z
• If performed manually, the • Use of robotics
process results in a delay in
the preparation of a
specimen for analysis.
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5-Specimen Processing
• Removal of Protein and Other Interferents
– (1) dialysis,
– (2) column chromatography, and
– (3) Filtration
• Separations in Immunoassay Systems
To separate free and bound antibodies , automated immunoassay
analyzers use bound antibodies or proteins in a solid-phase format.
– (1) beads,
– (2) coated tubes,
– (3) microtiter plates,
– (4) magnetic and nonmagnetic microparticles, and
– (5) fiber matrices.
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Centrifugal analyzers
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Reagent Identifcation
• Labels on reagent containers include
information such as
– (1)reagent identification,
– (2) volume of the contents or number of tests,
– (3) expiration date, and
– (4) lot number.
• Many reagent containers carry bar codes that
contain some or all of this information,
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7-Reagent Delivery
• Liquid reagents are delivered to mixing and
reaction chambers by pumps or by positive
displacement syringe devices.
• For those analyzers in which more than one
reagent is acquired and dispensed by the
same syringe, washing or flushing of the probe
is essential to prevent reagent carry-over.
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• continuous-flow system –
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Mixing of Reactants
• In a discrete system, these include:
– 1. Forceful dispensing.
– 2. Magnetic stirring.
– 3. Vigorous lateral displacement.
– 4. A rotating paddle.
– 5. The use of ultrasonic energy.
• Continuous-flow analyzers- tumbling action of the stream
in a mixing coil.
• Dry reagent systems -the serum completely interacts with
the dry chemicals as it flows through the matrix of the
reaction unit.
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Timing of Reactions
• In discrete random-access analyzers, samples
and reagents are added to a cuvette in a timed
sequence, and detector signals are measured
at intervals to follow the course of each
reaction.
Thermal Regulation
• Devices used to control temperature include
– (1) air baths,
– (2) water baths, and
– (3) contact with warm plates.
9-Measurement Approaches
Automated chemistry analyzers use a variety of optical
measurement devices including
– (1) photometers
– (2) spectrophotometers,
– (3) reflectance photometers,
– (4) fluorometers, and
– (5) luminometers.
Immunoassay systems use reaction schemes that
produce
– (1) fluorescence,
– (2) chemiluminescence, and
– (3) electrochemiluminescence.
Ion-selective electrodes and other electrochemical
techniques
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Photometry/Spectrophotometry
• Measurement of absorbance requires the following three basic components
• 1. An optical source – tungsten lamps, quartz-halogen lamps, deuterium
lamps,mercury lamps, xenon lamps, and lasers. 300 to 700 nm.
• 2. A means of spectral isolation-
– interference filters peak transmissions of 30% to 80% and bandwidths of 5 to
15 nm
– Monochromators with movable gratings and slits provide a continuous choice
of wavelengths.
– many manufacturers use a stationary, holographically ruled grating, coupled
with a stationary photodiode array, to isolate the spectrum
• 3. A detector.
– Photodiodes either as individual components or in multiples as an array.
– Photomultiplier tubes
• Proper alignment of cuvets with the light path(s) is important in both
automated and manual analyzers.
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Reflectance Photometry
• The intensity of the reflected light from the
reagent carrier is compared with that reflected
from a reference surface
Fluorometry
Fluorescence is the emission of electromagnetic
radiation by a species that has absorbed exciting
radiation from an outside source.
Turbidimetry and Nephelometry
to measure plasma proteins and to perform
therapeutic drug monitoring.
Chemiluminescence and Bioluminescence
excitation event is caused by a chemical or
electrochemical reaction
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Electrochemical methods
• The most widely used in ion-selective electrodes.
• These electrodes have replaced flame
photometry in the determination of sodium and
potassium.
• The relationship between ion activity and the
concentration of ions in the specimens must be
established with calibrating solutions, and such
electrodes need to be recalibrated frequently to
compensate or alterations in electrode response.
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Loop conveyor
a unidirectional conveyor
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PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Automation of a part or all operations
Evaluation of Requirements:
• Evaluation begins with mapping of the current
laboratory work-flow from the arrival of patient
specimens through completion of testing and
reporting of results.
• Determining process steps that
– (1) are bottlenecks,
– (2) waste labor, and
– (3) are prone to error
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Other areas
Urine analyzers
• It is more difficult, because of the broad range of
concentrations of many urine constituents
• This requires a low limit of detection to measure
low concentrations and
• expanded linearity to permit measurements of
high concentrations without dilution.
• However, with new-generation analyzers,
automation of urinalysis is gaining acceptance
Cell Counters
complete blood count (CBC) have been
automated through the use of
• the “Coulter principle,” which is based on cell
conductivity,
• light scatter, and
• flow cytometry.
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To conclude
• The history of automation in the clinical laboratory is long
and varied.
• Manual testing is clearly of the past century for a modern
laboratory except for a few very specialised tests.
• modern automated methods have become inevitable
especially to avoid the inherent variability of manual
procedures.
• The challenge is for laboratories to embrace the right kind
of automation to best meet their specific patient testing
needs
• There are myriad options available, from stand-alone
integrated systems, to pre- and post-analytical modules
that can be mixed and matched with analytical units, to
total laboratory automation. This is definitely a situation in
which “One size does not fit all.”
Thank you
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References
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