Our smart technology helps us make the right diagnosis

(Inside Aotea, June 2011)

Aotea Pathology's laboratory is filled with smart equipment that examines your specimens and helps us make diagnoses.

One of our biggest pieces of equipment is the Haematology Sample Transportation Line which tests blood specimens and can identify requirements for different tests.

First, your sample is barcoded, then placed in a rack with other samples at the beginning of the line and transferred to the Complete Blood Count (CBC) machine -- the XE2100.

This reads each barcode and communicates with the laboratory information system (LIS) to determine if the CBC test is required.

If yes, the test is carried out; if no, the sample is skipped and the machine selects the next sample. When a rack is completed, it moves on a conveyor belt to the slidemaker/stainer machine (SP1000).

The SP1000 reads each sample's barcode again. If the CBC result is abnormal the LIS will communicate to the SP1000 to make and stain a slide for haematology staff to look at. If the result is normal, the sample is skipped.

The final step is the tube sorter. Test tubes containing samples that require no further testing are placed in a discard tray, with the location recorded by the LIS. Those that require further testing are sorted into a separate tray.

This sophisticated equipment with its inbuilt logic is essential for quickly carrying out accurate testing of large numbers of samples. It helps guide us to the samples we need to focus on. We couldn't manage without it!