Automated Specimen Processing

Automated flexure tests are similar. The robot moves the bottom bar from the magazine to the measuring device where its width and thickness are determined, then it places the bar on the flexure test fixture. The PDP-11/44 begins the test by putting the crosshead in motion. Data collection begins when the first load is detected, and the test continues until the specimen bar breaks, the load cell maximum force is reached, or a specified maximum strain value is reached. Then the crosshead is stopped, the specimen is ejected from the fixture, and the crosshead is returned to its initial position. This process is repeated until the test series is complete. 

Some powder diffractometers, particularly those which are used for routine analysis of multiple samples of the same kind, can be equipped with multiple sample changers (usually from 4 to 12 specimens can be accommodated by a single sample changer). This ensures straightforward software control over the data collection process within a series of samples and enables better automation, as data sets from multiple samples may be collected without operator intervention, e.g. overnight or during a weekend. Multiple sample changers are common in powder x-ray diffractometers used... 

The presence of symmetry (Chapter 1) coupled with well-defined analytical relationships determining both the directions and intensities of scattered beams (Chapter 2), in addition to known properties of both the specimen and instrument employed to obtain a powder diffraction pattern (Chapter 3), makes it possible to develop both the general methodology and algorithm(s) suitable for automation. Given the amount of numerical data collected in a typical powder diffraction experiment, their interpretation and processing usually involves a broad use of computers. 

The term "automation has been applied in the field of clinical chemistry to describe the use of laboratory instruments and specimen processing equipment to perform clinical laboratory assays with only minimal involvement of the technologist. 

In this chapter, we discuss the principles that are applied to automate the individual steps of the analytical process both in individual analyzers and in the integration of automation throughout the dinical labora.tory We provide examples of these principles as implemented in commercially available chemistry, hematology immunoassay, and nucleic acid systems point-of-care (POC) analyzers and automated specimen processing systems. Definitions of terms used in the automation of cfinical chemistry have been published by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (lUPAC). ... 

A major advance in the automation of specimen identification in the clinical laboratory has been the incorporation of bar coding technology into analytical systems.In practice, a bar coded label (often generated by the laboratory information system and bearing the specimen accession number) is placed onto the specimen container and is subsequently read by one or more bar code readers that have been strategically placed at key positions in the analytical train. The resultant identifying and ancillary information is then transferred to and processed by the system software. 

The clotting of blood in specimen collection tubes, their subsequent centrifugation, and the transfer of serum to secondary tubes require time to complete. When performed manually, it has been known to cause delays in the preparation of a specimen for analysis. Consequently, to eliminate the problems associated with specimen preparation, systems are being developed to automate this process. The following developments are noteworthy. 

Positive-liquid-displacement pipettes are used for specimen handling in most discrete automated systems. With them, specimens, calibrators, and controls are delivered by a single pipette to the next stage in the analytical process. 

We begin this section with discussions of the roles that workstations, instrument clusters, and workceHs have in laboratory automation, followed by discussions of specimen transportation, automated specimen processing, automated specimen sorting, and automated specimen storage and retrieval subsystems. 

Figure 11-9 Example of a workstation configured with a duster of unlike instruments and robotic specimen processing that could be useful in remote automated laboratories or in small outpatient laboratories. (From Boyd jC, Felder RA, Savory J. Robotics and the changing face of the clinical laboratory. Clin Chem 1996 42 1901-10.)...

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