Many clinical laboratories are experiencing shortages of trained microbiology technologists while at the same seeing increasing workloads. Consequently, there is considerable interest in new automation that could potentially lessen labour demands for specimen processing. As a result, Copan in Italy developed the Walk Away Specimen Processor (WASP), using Toshiba Machine industrial robots. Here Nigel Smith, of TM Robotics (Europe) explains the application.
Clinical microbiology laboratories have largely been bypassed by the advances in automation that have benefited other areas of the clinical laboratory in recent years. Continuously monitoring blood culture systems, automated microbial identification and susceptibility testing systems are widely used. However, specimen processing and culture workup specifically remain manual tasks and few changes to the methods used to perform these tasks have been made in the recent past.
It was against this background that Copan developed its liquid based microbiology approach and WASP, to automate the entire task of sample processing, thus streamlining operations. The WASP automatically de-caps, plants and streaks culture plates, inoculates broth media, prepares Gram slides and recaps specimens in seconds. It has a throughput capacity equivalent to at least two or three full time people, which allows labs to expand their volume potential. The machine can free laboratory staff to do more valuable tasks and is a much needed solution at a time of diminishing human resources. Of course, WASP is also designed to work on a 24/7 basis, meaning that testing can continue throughout the night and weekend making the instrument extremely cost efficient.
WASP emulates exactly what the technologist normally does; it automatically opens the specimen container, dips in a loop, and plants the sample onto a plate then streaks the plate using traditional quadrant streaking techniques. If instructed to do so by the specimen processing protocol, the WASP will also decap a culture broth tube and inoculate a loop full of specimen into the broth and re-close the cap. It also has the ability to prepare a Gram slide for microscopic examination.
While other instruments just plant and streak, WASP performs the entire task of specimen processing without the technologist needing to handle the sample. This capability is due to the versatility of the robotics and software.
The WASP incorporates two Toshiba Machine SCARA robots, a TH250 and a TH450. The first robot moves specimens and plated media and takes specimens to one of the decapping device, while the second robot does the actual plate inoculation and streaking, broth inoculation and Gram slide preparation. Barcode readers on the WASP scan the specimen tube, and a printer prints specimen information and a bar code on a label that is placed on the plated media.
All specimens are loaded on the WASP by using special Teflon pallets that contain holes that are sized for specific containers. Up to six pallets can be loaded onto the instrument simultaneously, resulting in a maximum load of 72 Vacutainer tubes or ESwab tubes at one time. The WASP also has vortex apparatus and a spinner/centrifuge that can be used to prepare specimens for plating.
Maintenance and service assistance is simplified by the inclusion of a Webcam and VOiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows direct connection with a service engineer. This makes incorporating industrial robots into a laboratory application as easy as using any other form or automation or assigning the task to human personnel.
WASP can be found throughout North America and Europe, in countries including the United States, Canada, Belgium, Italy, the UK, Holland, and France. After a relatively short time on the market there are already more than 50 WASP(r) instruments in routine use across Europe and North America, with many more planned installations soon. There may well be a shortage of trained technologists and technicians in the microbiology industry, but there is no shortage of faith in robotics.
