Design of a laboratory automation system for a large clinical laboratory in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Laboratorio Fleury is a reference clinical laboratory performing more than 1,200 different laboratory tests, with a workload of 3.5 million tests in 1 998. With 60% of this workload directed to our clinical chemistry section, we started a project three years ago to evaluate the possibility of an auto mation system to fulfill our needs of quality, increased productivity, and as a base for further increases in workload. A workforce was assembled, and after detailed studies of our necessities and possibilities as well as an extensive program of visits and contacts in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, a final solution was settled. The system is being manufactured by IDS, Japan, and will be delivered by April 1999. It includes an inlet unit, an error l ane, a decapper, a waiting line, a retrieve unit, a sorting table, a recapp er unit, and an outlet unit. One of the main characteristics of our system is that if can be easily upgraded in order to receive more machines and/or more samples. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.