Robotic automation of coagulation analysis

Laboratory automation systems (LAS) have been installed in over 22 sites ac ross North America providing automation of many preanalytical and analytica l tasks in clinical laboratories. Only a few laboratories have automated th e analysis of citrated whole blood for the diagnosis of hemostasis disorder s. The analysis of coagulation factors in citrated blood requires a large a mount of labor in order to provide rapid turnaround; thus automation of thi s analytical process is attractive. Therefore, we have created an automated coagulation workstation using a systematic approach to automation design a nd engineering. First, we used discrete event simulation to calculate poten tial throughput and to identify possible bottlenecks for the proposed coagu lation workcell. We then created a three-dimensional animated computer mode l of the workstation to simplify workstation design. Finally, we constructe d a prototype workcell using a mobile robot, an articulated robotic arm, an d a coagulation analytical system. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All right s reserved.