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.