Types of Automation

Types of automation developed for use in the clinical laboratory include total and modular automation. 

The development of TLA and modular automation required the development of computer systems known as laboratory automation systems (LAS) with extensive software to support these systems in the clinical laboratory. For a more detailed description of the relationships between an LAS, LIS, automation equipment, and laboratory analyzers, the reader is referred to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) standard on laboratory automation communications.  

The individual steps required to complete an analysis are often referred to as unit operations. They include the following  

TABLE 11-1 Examples of Modular Systems with Key Parameters 

System Name Modules Throughput Range, Results per Hour Key Common Elements Module Assembly Comments 

---

Together, Figures 4 and 5b contrast tne problems of the two types of automated analysis. The gradual approach to high-energy... 

Two types of automated instruments are used for this type of determination. The first type is known as normal while the second is coulometric. 

There are several types of automated KF titrators available from leading companies that supply electrochemical equipment (Metrohm, for example). It should be noted that the mother solutions of these instruments are highly sensitive to side reactions with components of the nonaqueous solution. Hence, the users have to consult the suppliers of the KF mother solutions to ensure that they are compatible with the composition of the studied solution. 

The monitoring of the gas uptake in these batch reactors can be a monotonous process so a number of different types of automated systems have been developed. > 9-24 Most of these are one-of-a-kind, and were built and used in a... 

Automation of solid-phase extraction (SPE) is an important contribution to sample processing. If many samples are to be analyzed in the laboratory, automation provides precise and accurate methods when compared to manual methods. This chapter will discuss three major ideas on automation. First is why automate SPE. Second are the types of automation hardware, and third, how to automate an SPE method is discussed. Finally several case studies will be examined that show the automation process taken from a manual method. 

There are many types of automation equipment for SPE. They include semiautomated instruments, which are instruments where some intervention is required workstations, which carry out the entire SPE operation without intervention, including on-line analysis by GC and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and customized SPE, which are robotic systems that are capable of many activities besides SPE and are custom designed for the user. 

The second type of automation is the workstation. They are instruments that can perform multiple functions using software tools and dedicated hardware to perform a set of predefined operations, which are related to or part of the process of solid-phase extraction. They differ from laboratory robots that are capable of many laboratory functions. There are seven instruments that will be discussed in this section (Table 10.2-10.8), which are dedicated to solid-phase extraction. They range in price from approximately 20,000 to 50,000 (1996 dollars) for workstations and from 50,000 and up for laboratory robots. 

There are two important features in QTech (a) loading data into the database and (b) data querying and analysis. By selecting one of the tasks, the user can go directly to the task at hand. New improvement of the software is to include a drop-down menu for more functions and a link to S-Plus for fast loading of data and analysis. Industry and academia are encouraged to use this FDA in-house software as a template to develop other types of automation for the QT assessment world. 

Type of automated instrument Number of samples/run Application... 

Within the analytical process, automation and robotics play very important roles in environmental analysis, food analysis, and clinical analysis. There are two basic types of automation equipment automatic devices and automated devices. 

The services of the analytical chemist are constantly increasing as more and better analytical tests are developed, particularly in the environmental and clinical laboratories. The analyst often must handle a large number of samples and/or process vast amounts of data. Instruments are available that will automatically perform many or all of the steps of an analysis, greatly increasing the load capacity of the laboratory. The data generated can often be processed best by computer techniques computers may even be interfaced to the analytical instruments. An important type of automation is in process control whereby the progress of an industrial plant process is monitored in real time (i.e., online), and continuous analytical information is fed to control systems that maintain the process at preset conditions. 

In this chapter, we briefly consider the types of automated instruments and devices commonly used and the principles behind their operation. Their application to process control is discussed. 

Automatic devices cause required acts to be performed at given points in an operation without human intervention. For instance, an automatic titrator records a titration curve or simply stops a titration at an endpoint by mechanical or electrical means (such as a relay) instead of manually. Automated devices, on the other hand, replace human manipulative effort by mechanical and instrumental devices regulated by feedback of information, so, the apparatus is self-monitoring or selfbalancing. An automated titrator may be intended to maintain a sample at some preselected (set point) state— for example, at pH = 8. To do this, the pH of the solution is sensed and compared to a set point of pH = 8, and acid or base is added continuously so as to keep the sample pH at the set point. This type of automated titrator is called a pH-stat [2]. 

Unattended continuous samplers are used for ongoing radionuclide measurements. A small fracAon of the surface Aow is pumped into the sampler. One type of automated sampler (see Fig. 5.3) collects samples at regular intervals of minutes to days in a set of sample containers. A single container can be placed at the collector to receive a composite sample. 

The type of automated assembly system is essentieilly determined by the workpieces to assemble. The most influential factors are the workpiece s total weight, size, amoimt, and mnnber of types euid variants. 

The various types of automated assembly systems euise due to the combination of the different t5rpes of assembly stations and work transfer devices, which, in turn, ate dependent on the requirements of the workpieces to assemble. HexibUity, that is, being adaptable to different conditions euid assembly tasks, should also be a characteristic of assembly systems. An adequate configuration of the assembly station as well as respective work transfer devices will help meet the different flexibility requirements. 

The PC software controls complete measurement programs, i.e., drop-volume measurements for a liquid can be performed at different dosing rates. After each measurement the surface tension as a function of time is calculated and plotted as a graph. Other types of automated drop-volume instruments are designed in a similar way. 

Gas-separation-module assembly is typically an operator-machine interactive process, because the scale of operation cannot justify the type of automation necessary for the high-volume dialysis and filter-module assembly lines. This also has some advantages in enabling products to be sized and tailored to the application. 

---