Hematology laboratory workflow management software

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CLINICAL SOFTWARE FOR BUSY LABS

Automation is considered one of the most important breakthroughs in the recent history of laboratory diagnostics. In a model of total laboratory automation TLA , many analyzers performing different types of tests on different sample matrices are physically integrated as modular systems or physically connected by assembly lines. The opportunity to integrate multiple diagnostic specialties to one single track seems effective to improve efficiency, organization, standardization, quality and safety of laboratory testing, whilst also providing a significant return of investment on the long-term and enabling staff requalification.

As many ongoing technological innovations coupled with the current scenario, profoundly driven by cost-containment policies, will promote further diffusion of laboratory automation in the foreseeable future, here we provide a personal overview on some potential advantages and limitations of TLA.

Automation has strongly contributed to revolutionizing many human activities, thus providing unquestionable benefits on system performance [ 1 ]. The abundant and multifaceted advancements of automation technologies have also generated a profound impact on the organization of clinical laboratories, where many manual tasks have now been partially or completely replaced by automated and labor-saving instrumentation [ 2 ], [ 3 ]. Albeit no single definition exists, laboratory automation is usually classified according to the complexity of instruments integration, ranging between no automation all analyzers existing as stand-alone machines , partial laboratory automation e.

In the broader models of TLA, many preanalytical and postanalytical steps e. As it is hence predictable that ongoing technological innovations, coupled with an economic scenario profoundly driven by cost-containment policies, will promote further diffusion of laboratory automation in the foreseeable future, here we provide a personal overview on some potential advantages and limitations of TLA.

Several lines of evidence now attest that an efficient model of TLA can successfully lower the costs of laboratory diagnostics [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ]. The net benefit i.

Basically, the major economic revenue of TLA, resulting from merging many diagnostic platforms within a consolidated system, not only encompasses a reduction of manual workforce especially auxiliary and technical staff needed for managing high-volume testing [ 10 ], but is also attributable to lower preanalytical and postanalytical expenditures.

For example, consolidation of the so-called serum working area would actually need collecting a minor number of blood tubes for performing different analyses and will also require smaller storage units i. However, the economic saving is variable, depending on the final solution of automation adopted and on the relative volume of tests locally performed, as the larger is the number of tests, the bigger is the consequent economic revenue of automating many steps of the total testing process [ 10 ].

This aspect may then allow suggesting or justifying the adoption of different model of automation based on local volume and complexity of testing. Directly linked to the previous point, the decrease of personnel needed for performing identical volumes of tests after implementing TLA would also produce lower staff congestion within the laboratory [ 10 ]. An optimized layout of integrated workstations would in fact prevent technicians moving back and forth many times from one analyzer to another, thus minimizing the distance covered by the personnel for performing multiple analyses on different instrumentation.

Beside cost-containment benefits, which are especially cherished by policymakers and healthcare administrators [ 11 ], TLA provides some other advantages within the laboratory environment, most of which are attributable to using customizable assembly lines, which can be organized to meet specific requirements and layouts of different laboratories. Several lines of evidence now demonstrate that an efficiently designed TLA may be variably effective to reduce turnaround time TAT and concomitantly increase laboratory productivity i.

Notably, modern assembly lines can transport a huge number of blood tubes or secondary aliquots at high speed i. One valuable example is that recently published by Yeo and Ng [ 19 ], who showed that the workload of a laboratory service can be substantially increased after implementing TLA, and that such an increased volume of tests may also be accompanied by a notable expansion of the test repertoire. These valuable goals could be essentially achieved by workflow optimization, automatically encompassing diversion or prioritization of samples among the different analyzers, especially when an analyzer is full or has some technical failures.

Very understandably, however, the adoption of a model of TLA incorporating several diagnostic lines e. Alongside this line, TLA offers the additional advantage of allowing a combination of modern preanalytical workstations with analytical platforms [ 20 ].

The former instrumentation now enables check-in, sorting, decapping, centrifugation and fully-automated liquid aliquoting of different tubes types and sizes, followed by circulation of automatically labeled secondary aliquots into TLA, thus overcoming the challenge of adapting different analyzers to different types of tubes.

Even here, however, a preliminary analysis of the workflow within the laboratory and a constant monitoring of TAT over time seem critical for implementing the most efficient solution and eventually correcting system flaws. This would enable identifying ex ante , or adjusting ex post , some critical steps of sample management within the system, ultimately optimizing its performance in terms of managing high volumes and complexity.

Notably, some models of TLA are now equipped with input stations e. Except for pre-centrifuged blood tubes i. Finally, optimization of workflow and shorter TAT would also permit to more timely report data to the requesting physicians, thus reducing the need for priority urgent testing.

Information technology IT has profoundly contributed to improving medical laboratory work and organization. Query-host communication has virtually eradicated some high-risk activity connected to manual transcribing data and has also enabled reducing the TAT [ 22 ].

The modern generation of laboratory instrumentation is also equipped with advanced software programs, allowing better sample management. Setting decision rules based on predefined criteria now permits autoverification of data, automatic re-analysis of samples with highly abnormal or suspect results, as well as triggering reflex reflective and add-on testing, thus ultimately contributing to enhance the quality and safety of diagnostic testing [ 23 ], [ 24 ].

The efficiency of performing these important activities is enormously magnified in laboratories using TLA, where sample management within the system is more efficient i. Moreover, the integration of different instrumentation enables automatically performing many different types of tests, planning automatic reflex or add-one testing, using different sample matrices.

For example, consolidation of hematologic analyzers within the serum working area may allow setting automatic rules for troubleshooting anemia e. Last but not least, specimen traceability is consistently enhanced by maintaining all routine and stat samples within a unique environment, enabling digital traceability of all the processes a tube has been subjected to, from time of delivery to the laboratory, up to storage once testing has been completed. Keeping all the different phases of the total testing process under control, thus including extra-analytical activities, is a mainstay of total quality in laboratory diagnostics [ 26 ], which has also become a mandatory requirements of International Standards Organization ISO accreditation [ 27 ].

It is now undeniable that consolidating different diagnostic areas within the same workspace would require less administrative efforts to develop and update standard operating procedures SOPs , wherein multiple procedures for preanalytical and postanalytical sample management can be merged when many analyzers are integrated within the same model of TLA. Notably, TLA also seems profitable for many aspects related to the analytical quality, such as quality specifications of the assays, traceability of calibrators, improved quality and stability of reagents, along with some other aspects that laboratory professionals should evaluate in addition to technical planning before the adoption of a specific solution of TLA.

The increased accuracy and repeatability throughout the total testing process enabled by automating operations would also grant paramount benefits in terms of standardization, thus simplifying certification and accreditation procedures. Standardization and harmonization are two crucial issues in laboratory diagnostics. Most efforts made over the past decades have been essentially focused on the analytical part of the total testing process [ 28 ], whilst major attention has only recently been given to preanalytical [ 29 ] and postanalytical [ 30 ] activities.

Conventionally, automation allows taking over the bulk of many manual ordinary activities i. Such improved process standardization will yield tangible benefits on the quality of the total testing process, thus lowering the risk of diagnostic errors, especially those emerging from the manually-intensive activities of the preanalytical phase [ 19 ].

A paradigmatic example has been published by Hawker et al. However, the analytical process can also be carried out more safely and efficiently using TLA, as several activities such as dilution of samples with results lying outside the range of linearity, or sample resting when results are alerted, can be both automatically performed, by more efficiently retrieving specimens from the storage unit, without manual intervention. Notably, some integrated preanalytical workstations can also automatically perform quality assessment for monitoring specimen integrity i.

Containment of unnecessary diagnostic-related blood loss and prevention of blood drawing-related anemia are especially important in subjects such as neonates, anemic patients or those needing repeated laboratory testing for critical illnesses [ 31 ]. The use of lower blood volumes may also be a viable option in patients with difficult veins, for whom drawing multiple blood tubes may be unfeasible [ 32 ].

One of the previously mentioned advantages of TLA is the opportunity to reduce the number of blood tubes needed for testing. The so-called serum working area is a paradigmatic example, wherein the same serum or lithium-heparin plasma tube can be used for multiple clinical chemistry and immunochemistry tests [ 33 ], thus allowing to consistently reduce the total volume of blood needed for testing.

Importantly, a reduced sample volume will also generate a lower impact on biological waste disposal, thus producing an additional economic saving. The consolidation of many diagnostic areas with the same space e.

The considerable advancements of IT now allow laboratory staff to navigate and manage data flow of delivery, analytical and archival systems [ 19 ]. The middleware of most models of TLA enables integrating a vast array of test results produced by different analyzers, even before data are transferred to the LIS.

Worker safety is one of the most important advantages of automating industrial operations. Automated systems not only remove operators from the workplace, but also safeguard them against the risks of performing biologically hazardous operations and handling biohazardous materials [ 34 ].

The minimization of manually-intensive labor is one of the major advantages of TLA, which would then translate into a net saving of staff both technical and auxiliary needed for managing laboratory workflow [ 9 ]. Hence, this would enable to requalify the personnel, eliminating manpower and redefining job roles towards value-added tasks such as quality assessment or implementation of new tests e.

It is also worthwhile mentioning here that personnel requalification can be intellectually satisfying, thus enhancing the morale and productivity of the staff. The investment for implementation of TLA is inevitably associated with an initial escalation of costs for accommodating the project i. This may be an issue in some facilities, where the budget allocated to the laboratory by the hospital administrations for a new tender remains unvaried or is even lower than for former tenders [ 10 ].

Hence, a negotiation with the hospital administration would be necessary, to clearly illustrate the possible return of investment achievable by shifting toward TLA, accompanied by a reliable financial planning accountable for expenses and projections of revenues [ 36 ].

The implementation of new hardware, essentially represented by preanalytical workstations, assembly lines and sample storage units, carries subsidiary costs for running the system i. A large model of TLA would also require a higher level of maintenance than for manually-operated instrumentation [ 36 ].

Space requirements and infrastructure constraints are major issues for implementing TLA. Accommodating multiple analyzers and new hardware into a preexisting environment may be a challenge, especially when the building is not purpose-built or fit for this scope. It is understandably easier to create a new space than renovating an existing one especially when the infrastructure of the building is old [ 37 ]. In the latter scenario, when renewing possibilities are limited, the configuration of the system should be necessarily designed around the local environment, so that analyzers orientation and access for maintenance or repair may be acceptable.

Flexible models of TLA may be preferable when the environment does not allow developing an ideal solution. One unquestionable benefit of implementing TLA is that the staff no longer need to move many times from one analyzer to another.

On the other hand, consolidation of many different analyzers within the same area may consistently increase the risk of generating overcrowded work environments, with many technicians occupying the same space at the same time [ 34 ]. Therefore, an efficient plan, aimed at identifying a lean laboratory layout concept, should be elaborated. The consolidation of many analyzers in the same area e. Hence, this may be perceived as excessive warming and increased exposure to acoustical or electrical noise in the workplace [ 37 ].

The higher is the complexity of the system, the greater is the risk that a system failure would generate serious consequences on laboratory functioning. This concept especially applies to laboratories using vast TLA models, where many analyzers are physically connected by assembly lines. Critical system failures, especially involving the assembly lines, would require restoring manual procedures for managing samples i.

These unfavourable consequences are magnified by a consistent decrease of manual workforce and understaffing, as is commonly achievable with TLA. To overcome this problem, a back-up power supply, hardware, software, emergent procedures or even implementing back-up point of care testing POCT analyzers should be seen as suitable alternatives for limiting downtime. The possibility of manual sample loading into the analyzers during emergency situations should always be preserved [ 36 ].

There has been a long debate regarding human psychological dependence on automation, nicely reviewed by Stanton and Young in the context of driving automation [ 38 ]. Basically, replacement of manual activities with automation has some major consequences, i.

These last two aspects are especially important in clinical laboratories, as the transfer of technical skills to the operational environment would then make it challenging, both technically and psychologically, to resume manual abilities.

It may even seem paradoxical but replacing many manual activities with automation would make the staff feel like being sent into the middle of nowhere when facing automation failures [ 39 ]. The human response to automation failure was shown to often be dramatic [ 40 ], and this might be attributable to — at least — two major causes. The first, discussed earlier, is the almost irreversible loss of confidence in manual skills, whilst the second, even more challenging, is the lack of manual power consequent to staff reduction needed for resuming all those activities that have been conveyed to automation e.

There is no easy way to come out of this situation other than by implementing an expensive back-up system, as previously discussed, or delivering samples to another neighboring laboratory. Additional staff-related problems can then be highlighted, including anxiety, uncertainty and even resistance to the changes. Hence, the laboratory management should be engaged in emphasizing the exciting aspects of the changes, highlighting the many possible favorable consequences and opportunities that may be generated by the new organization.

The essential of TLA is that different types of samples, thus reflecting different biological matrices i. Albeit this really means that all samples may be managed in the same way along their path to the analyzers, it has been defined that the different biospecimens may need different preparation before being tested [ 41 ].

Therefore, consolidating hemostasis testing within TLA remains a largely debated issue [ 43 ]. Unless stronger evidence is generated that hemostasis tests are not affected by shorter centrifugation times, higher centrifugation forces or centrifuge brake [ 44 ], criteria should be set that citrated samples would need to follow a specific path within the system, with dedicated centrifugation, or else that hemostasis analyzers should not be integrated within the TLA.

An additional concern is the stability of coagulation samples within TLA, as there is no stable separation after centrifugation by gel or other physical barriers between citrate plasma and the blood cells underneath.

Therefore, the possibility that blood cells may contaminate plasma when samples travel at high speed, pass over switches and slots or collide with other tubes must be accurately prevented. The optimal management of stat i.


Medical Laboratory Technicians

Fortunately, Sysmex helps your lab manage the entire implementation process, from installation to launch and beyond. Download the brochure. Download the Specification Sheet. If you would like to learn more about Caresphere WS, contact your sales representative or contact the Caresphere WS team here.

ABX Pentra ML is a compact system to facilitate validation process of blood related diseases (Hematology) for efficiency. It comes with ergonomic features.

Clinical Cytogenetics, Cancer Genetics and Cell Biology

Improve laboratory workflows and sample management for better operational and clinical outcomes. Apply customized, automated data-management rules to streamline laboratory workflows and enhance clinical data management. CentraLink Data Management System integrates clinical data to automate lab workflow. When a QC failure occurs, the CentraLink system can automatically disable assay-specific testing on the instrument in question and immediately reroute samples to perform the required testing on another instrument on the Aptio Automation track. Likewise, when reflex testing is triggered or orders for add-on tests are received from the LIS, samples connected to the Aptio Automation track can be automatically retrieved and processed. Importantly, the ability to deeply integrate data from connected instruments and automation modules means that viability algorithms that include time of collection, time of centrifugation, storage time, etc. If not, the middleware can alert the operator that a new sample draw may be required. A variety of white papers, video tutorials, and customer case studies are available to help you better understand how powerful and easy to use the CentraLink Data Management System can be:. Simplify data management with connectivity to the following analyzers. Please contact your local Siemens Healthineers representative or consult our Laboratory Diagnostics Document Library for the CentraLink system interface established for each device 5.

Advantages and limitations of total laboratory automation: a personal overview

hematology laboratory workflow management software

The Cube S is a compact robotic workstation that optimizes pre and post analytical sorting, storing and tracking of sample tubes in a laboratory. This benchtop instrument automates a number of steps that would otherwise be undertaken manually, thus significantly enhancing laboratory workflows and increasing productivity. This saves technician time, improves safety by reducing potential hazards and promotes ease-of-use, with a colored user interface. Cube S is adaptable to all standard sample collection tubes hematology, clinical chemistry and hemostasis.

Advanced and scalable radiology solutions that can help improve care coordination, increase speed and facilitate accurate clinical decisions. Leading the way in highlighting useful and efficient decision support tools for improved patient outcomes.

Haematology

Cerner offers a full suite of laboratory solutions designed to optimize workflows within the laboratory and support the sharing of information across your lab network. Cerner strives to continuously broaden functionality and usability within the laboratory through regular software releases and ongoing strategic partnership development. The Cerner laboratory team continues to offer unique solutions to your everyday lab problems. The new technology has increased efficiency and reduced errors. In just the first year after implementation, label errors dropped 85 percent.

CentraLink™ Data Management System Advanced Hematology Module Online Training

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are carried out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medical laboratories vary in size and complexity and so offer a variety of testing services. Commercial medical laboratories operate as independent businesses and provide testing that is otherwise not provided in other settings due to low test volume or complexity. In hospitals and other patient-care settings, laboratory medicine is provided by the Department of Pathology and Medical Laboratory, and generally divided into two sections, each of which will be subdivided into multiple specialty areas. Layouts of clinical laboratories in health institutions vary greatly from one facility to another. For instance, some health facilities have a single laboratory for the microbiology section, while others have a separate lab for each specialty area. The United States has a documented shortage of working laboratory professionals. The decline is primarily due to retirements, and to at-capacity educational programs that cannot expand which limits the number of new graduates.

QC solutions designed to improve workflow and efficiency, minimize risk and costly results while running a cutting-edge lab—that's the Bio-Rad promise.

As this year comes to a close and we look forward to celebrating holidays with family and friends, we can also celebrate our accomplishments over the year. Our jobs in the clinical laboratory are vital in helping physicians make clinical decisions and we should celebrate the role we play in healthcare. In hematology, techs are busy doing daily tasks; QC,maintenance, and analyzing all the samples that come into the lab, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We work constantly to provide physicians with accurate and precise results in a timely fashion.

Apex LIS is a cloud-based medical laboratory management solution designed to help businesses in the health care industry automate processes related to specimen storage, data security, order entry and more. The centralized platform Read more. LABTRACK LIMS is a cloud-based laboratory information management system designed to help small to large biopharma, safety testing, food and manufacturing labs manage samples, customize forms and create reports.

Tailored Hematology workflow capabilities to streamline test result validation.

Ana Sayfa menu. Arama menu. International Journal of Medical Biochemistry. İngilizce Investigation of the effect of autoverification on hematology laboratory workflow Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an autoverification process on test turnaround time TAT , sample rejection rate, and the sample test repetition rate. Sysmex XN series middleware Sysmex Corp. Therate of test rejection, test repetition, and TAT of the 3 months preceding use of autoverification were compared withthose of a 3-month period following initiation of use of the Sysmex hematology analyzer autoverification process. Results: A total of , test results of complete blood count profiles performed between January and March were collected to determine the distribution intervals.

Testing for the full spectrum of hematologic disorders. Our comprehensive test menu has been created to aid in diagnosis and treatment selection across the full spectrum of hematologic disorders. Through our clinical experience, we have developed and validated practice-based, data-driven algorithms that improve patient care, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. Stay up-to-date on the latest discoveries and test launches.

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  1. Shaktira

    It seems very good to me

  2. Mavrick

    where catty world?