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The Blog

Selected category: OEM

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Cavro® ADP Detect: OEM design engineering drives molecular diagnostics automation

By Mellisa Enriquez

Cavro ADP Detect: an overview

Tecan's design engineering plays a crucial role in driving the automation of molecular diagnostics workflows. The Tecan® ADP pipettor range has a proven track record of successful integration into molecular diagnostics platforms worldwide. In our previous article, we highlighted how Cavro ADP pipettors bring a so-called “sixth sense” to automated pipetting. Here, we explore in more depth how the engineering behind the ADP Detect brings simplicity and accuracy to the automation of molecular diagnostics workflows.

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Ramping up the revenue: 5 ways to optimize your automated diagnostics system launch

By Nick Smith

The launch of your new in vitro diagnostics (IVD) system is imminent. You’ve read in our first article about the 5 major ingredients for success: retaining technical expertise, investing in training, ensuring regional focus, forecasting accurately, and managing the lifecycle of your platform. Let us now re-examine these 5 ingredients to see how you can best use the support of your OEM partner to simplify the launch process, accelerate revenue ramp-up, and position your platform for long-term profitable growth.

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Cavro® ADP Detect: bringing a sixth sense to automated pipetting

By Mellisa Enriquez

Molecular diagnostics: the never-ending challenge

Molecular diagnostics offers researchers and clinicians valuable insights into the mechanisms of disease, allowing them to assess predisposition, as well as to design and implement accurate diagnostic methods and individualized therapies.

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Automated diagnostics systems launch: 5 steps to revenue acceleration

By Nick Smith

Ready to launch – or are you?

The development phase of your new automated system is coming to an end. You’ve fine-tuned your IVD instrument with the help of your Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partner, tested it thoroughly with your enthusiastic early access customers, and you’re all pretty confident that it will exactly meet the application needs of evolving diagnostic market trends. Your investors are eager to see how it performs, and you are anxious to kick-start revenue generation. It’s time to launch.

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How liquid handling components maximize efficiency for point-of-care diagnostics

By Joe Guterl

Bring the test to the patient, not the patient to the test. When diagnostic test instruments are available at the point of care (POC), healthcare providers and patients will have faster and easier access to reliable results. Risks can be assessed earlier when diagnosis and treatment are most effective.

High-performance liquid handling technologies are enabling advancements in POC instruments that deliver more accurate and reliable results faster. Flexible and customizable configurations provide options for different types of diagnostic testing instruments to maximize efficiency for small or remote POC facilities. POC liquid handling instrument designs that leverage these capabilities will be best positioned to gain advantage in growing POC markets.

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How point-of-care technology providers can drive market growth with liquid handing instruments

By Joe Guterl

More than $72 billion – that is what some researchers estimate will be the global point-of-care (POC) biochemical diagnostic testing market size in 2027, up from $36 billion in 2021.1,2 The POC molecular diagnostics market is expected to reach $4-$5 billion in the same timeframe, up from about $3 billion in the 2020/2021 timeframe.2,3

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we engage with healthcare, but other trends in disease, technology innovation, and healthcare infrastructure are also presenting new drivers and challenges to this tremendous growth. Point-of-care instrument providers that can offer more accurate, precise, flexible, and faster tools will be in the best position to leverage the drivers, mitigate the challenges, and capture POC market share.

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Achieving IVDR certification that meets EU regulation in 2022

By Günter Weisshaar

The announcement of the In Vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR) in 2017 was celebrated as an essential upgrade to in vitro diagnostic (IVD) device regulations in Europe. This article discusses the important changes, challenges, and benefits of IVDR, as well as an industry insight into how to work together to ensure IVD devices are, and continue to be, compliant.

The IVDR is the European Union’s regulatory overhaul of pre- and post-market requirements for IVD devices. It came into force in May 2017, with a five-year transition period that was initially proposed to finish on May 26, 2022. However, the COVID-19 pandemic added further strains to already tight timelines, as a result, the European Commission proposed a more progressive roll out to prevent disruption in the supply of essential healthcare products.

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Five secrets to a successful IVD OEM partnership

By Nicholas Smith

You are considering an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partner to support you in bringing your idea to market. The planned in vitro diagnostic device may require components, robotics and modules. You may need integration into an existing platform or the development of a completely new customized system. You may need to react quickly to unexpected circumstances requiring rapid changes in the throughput of your instruments. What else should you take into account when selecting an ideal OEM partner?

Every partnership has two sides and each must work together to reach success. In this case, there is the OEM partner and an OEM customer. Would any OEM partner fit with any OEM customer? There are several success factors that OEM customers and OEM partners need to consider to develop a successful partnership.

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Mind the gap: How to navigate the IVDD-IVDR transition – Part 2

By Laura Nea

The global trend toward more stringent regulatory control of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices is sending shock waves through the industry. Now that we have passed the halfway mark in the transition to Europe’s new In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR 2017/746), it’s crucial that diagnostics businesses critically evaluate their entire supply chain to close any gaps and ensure IVDR-compliance can be maintained throughout the device lifecycle. An important question to ask is whether outsourcing your IVD projects will help or hinder your efforts to comply and remain competitive in this shifting regulatory landscape. In the final blog of this 2-part series, we consider the advantages of partnering and the factors that are crucial for success.

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Mind the gap: How to navigate the IVDD-IVDR transition – Part 1

By Laura Nea

Is your business IVDR-ready, or are there treacherous gaps in your strategy? This November marks the halfway point in the five-year transition to the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) 2017/746—a major regulatory overhaul that calls for reclassification and recertification of all IVD devices registered in the European Union. With its expanded scope and more stringent requirements, IVDR impacts the entire supply chain. The May 2022 transition deadline may seem a long way off, but there’s no time to lose. In this 2-part series, we help you take stock of the situation, with a special focus on how to prepare when it comes to managing OEM relationships and new partnerships.

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Why developing IVD automation software in-house backfires

By Andreas Schmitt

When you have a diagnostic lab instrument and want to make the move to automation, creating high-quality, reliable and intuitive robot control software that, optimizes throughput, provides process safeguards, and analyzes and presents results, is vital.

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COVID-19: best liquid dispenser choices to prevent contamination and error in the lab

By David Wold

The global COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented pressure on laboratories to meet demand for accurate, large-scale, high-throughput testing. In such extreme circumstances, conserving samples and minimizing risk of contamination is vital, and it all boils down to having the right pump at the heart of your test instrument. For most molecular diagnostics instruments, an air displacement pipettor (ADP) with disposable tips is the preferred approach.

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Robotics in stem cells research: a high-return investment

By Remi Magnan

Low drug efficacy and safety concerns are the main reasons for late-stage withdrawal of drugs in clinical trials and account for 87% of all phase III submission failures. [1] Toxicity towards certain organs like the heart, liver or kidneys plays a central role in many of these unsuccessful trials. For the monitoring of tissue-specific toxicity, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are increasingly used as a powerful tool to develop cell models, since they are more relevant, scalable and reproducible model systems compared to traditional animal models and standard immortalized cell lines. Production, handling and differentiation of iPSC and other stem cell-derived models is very time-consuming and greatly benefits from automation. This article explores some of the factors to consider when automating for stem cell handling and differentiation.

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Rapid prototyping: the secret weapon to get automated instruments to market faster

By Claudio Bui

Getting to market quickly is essential when introducing new instrumentation into a fast-paced industry sector like genomics. When the pressure is on, rapid prototyping can be the key to quickly and efficiently building a reliable product that fulfills all the needs of your customer. In this article, we take a closer look at what prototyping involves and how you can accelerate the process to get your instrument to market faster than your competitors.

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Partnering vs DIY for automated laboratory instrument development

By Claudio Bui

Getting to market in time with a fully functional IVD instrument that is automated requires precision planning and laser focus at all stages of development. At the onset of your project, it is important to weigh the development risks and consider the impact those may have on time it takes to introduce your instrument to market. One of those development risks to evaluate is whether partnering with an OEM developer with automated liquid handling experience is a viable option for your project. Or if the option to develop your instrument in-house is the best way to proceed.

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10 causes of delay when rolling out laboratory instruments in genomics

By Claudio Bui

With complex products like laboratory instruments used to automate genomic testing, time to market is often a critical factor in determining whether or not to go ahead with product development. The obvious problem is that as projects become more complex and involve more teams with mixed competencies, calculating the time to market becomes more challenging. Based on my experience, here are some of the top reasons why companies significantly underestimate their time to market projections. If you can avoid these common pitfalls when launching new lab instruments and genomic tools, then the risk of your project being delayed is significantly reduced.

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Why iPSC research is so important (and so tough)

By Remi Magnan

Research using stem cells and stem cell-derived models holds huge promise for drug discovery and therapeutic applications. However, creating, characterizing, maintaining and expanding stem cell-derived models and therapeutics can be a time-consuming and error-prone bottleneck. The emergence of genetically engineered induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) has opened the door to more relevant and reproducible human model systems and scale-up strategies, yet many challenges remain when it comes to the practical application of iPSC in the lab. In this article we take a look at the advantages that iPSC technology brings as well as some of the main challenges that must be addressed to increase research output and quality.

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Lessons of the pandemic: 3 ways to secure lab operations

By Dr Beatrice Marg-Haufe

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to look at laboratory routines to see if they are really pandemic proof. For example, the explosive demand for high throughput genomic analysis often creates pressures upstream to process many more samples and prepare high quality DNA. The rapid shut down of non-essential workplaces and services coupled with the surge in demand for laboratory testing put immense strain on multiple aspects of normal laboratory operations such as strict rules on the need for personal protective equipment which was in limited supply and required physical distancing. Consumable stocks and reagents also dwindled as they were being used at a much faster rate and the supply chains were affected by global demand. Now that limitations of current laboratory routines have been highlighted, it’s time to consider how to make laboratories pandemic proof.

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COVID-19: Six challenges to large-scale testing

By David Wold

Designing and manufacturing lab instruments that include automated liquid handling is challenging at the best of times, but in the face of increased demand for faster testing, it’s even more critical to select the right partner and reliable components. The global COVID-19 pandemic is posing unprecedented challenges for laboratories as they race to meet the demand for accurate, large-scale testing in a short amount of time, and without the risk of cross-contamination.

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Pandemic preparedness: Scaling up for the healthcare industry

By Joe Rotter

How do you prepare for the unexpected? The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light how challenging it is for labs and production facilities to scale up quickly in times of need. The sudden surge in demand for laboratory solutions at the very time that we are experiencing unprecedented constraints on the workforce and global supply chains is a wake-up call. This has put pressure on infrastructures in every sphere connected to the healthcare industry—from R&D and manufacturing to clinical diagnostics. Even relatively small labs and organizations have been required to rapidly shift focus and massively expand their outputs at an unprecedented rate.

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From good enough to great: An iterative approach to IVD product development

By Yves Wurmitzer

From top global instrument makers to smaller startups, life science companies face a challenge when developing and launching new IVD products in a fast-paced market. How do you create a product that meets market needs without overdeveloping it? You want a development effort that keeps costs in a profitable range while still delivering value to your customers. And you want to launch your new product within a window of time that makes it unique on the market.

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Reducing risks in IVD instrument development

By Nicholas Smith 


The In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) medical device market is fast-paced and highly competitive, with new and advanced applications appearing every day. High technical risks, cost overruns, schedule delays and missed end-user targets are just some of the pitfalls that can derail a project or lead to an unsuccessful product. Moreover, the expertise requirements and regulatory landscape for IVD medical devices continue to grow in complexity, making it even more difficult for a diagnostics company to keep pace and bring its platform solutions to market in a timely manner and with the appropriate mechanisms in place to fully support the customer. Here we take a closer look at why a systematic risk-based development approach is essential for IVD device development, and how the right OEM partner can be crucial for success.

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Seven elements for successful IVD instrument development with your OEM partner

By Nicholas Smith 

You have made the decision to enter into the development of an IVD medical device for your customers. You have learned that inviting an OEM partner into your project could be beneficial to reduce risks and fill expertise or skill gaps, but you are still hesitant. What are the key elements that you should consider to ensure the success of the collaboration?

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Things to consider before introducing lab automation to in vitro diagnostics

By Nicholas Smith 

If you’re thinking about automating your in vitro diagnostic (IVD) product it can be hard to decide whether to outsource to an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partner or keep the development in-house. While the familiarity of a DIY solution might be appealing there are a number of hidden pitfalls that could hamper your progress.

Finding the right OEM partner for your IVD medical device could give you the edge by avoiding these pitfalls and giving your project a speed and performance boost needed to help you get to market faster.

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Why IVD system project launches fail

By Andreas Scheidegger

Introducing a new in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) lab automation solution can add an entirely new dimension to your existing product portfolio and business. Launching a complete system that provides harmony between chemistry and assay workflow, instrumentation, software analysis and reporting is a complex endeavor that demands careful planning and execution. 

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For data reproducibility: automation of ELISA test kit protocols wins

By Magali Fischer

Automating robust assays is a way forward

Generating reproducible, accurate ELISA data starts with reliable reagents that are highly sensitive and specific. These are often available as kits that need to be incorporated into an efficient workflow. Unfortunately, running ELISA manually involves multiple manual wash processes and pipetting steps that are time-consuming, increase the risk for human error, and lead to poor reproducibility. Automation is the best route to smoothening the workflow and increasing data reliability.

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Getting to the root of poor ELISA data reproducibility

By Magali Fischer

With more than 50% of preclinical results estimated to be irreproducible, the reliability of methods, assays, and protocols is a major concern in all areas of research. Many critical assay workflows, such as those for ELISA tests, are prone to error, even when using a high quality kit. While ELISA kits provide a solid basis to generate reliable data, troubleshooting the complete assay workflow is the first step toward pinpointing additional sources of variability and error that must be addressed in order to increase reproducibility and confident decision making.

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Why outsourcing lab automation solutions is more cost-effective than you think

By Nicholas Smith

It can be easy to dismiss outsourcing lab automation in favour of seemingly less expensive do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions. However, outsourcing is more cost effective than it might seem. By taking advantage of the expertise of Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partners, who can also offer a variety of flexible financing options, outsourcing could well be the right solution for your business. Here are some of the main ways in which OEM partners can make your automation project more cost-effective.

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The ups and downs of DIY lab automation

By Nicholas Smith

With open source software and high quality off-the-shelf components, do-it-yourself (DIY) lab automation solutions are trending. While developing lab automation in-house might seem attractive at first glance, the road is littered with hidden pitfalls that can derail internal projects. Finding an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partner can be a cost-effective way to circumvent the pitfalls and mitigate risks by working with a trusted automation expert.

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Why you should consider product lifecycle management when selecting an OEM partner

By Micaela Wochner

As a diagnostic product moves through its lifecycle, its development, engineering and customer support needs change. In order to extend the period of product profitability and customer loyalty for as long as possible, you must start planning for the next evolution of the product from the beginning. Involving an OEM partner in your product lifecycle management (LCM) from the start can help you create products that are easier to service at a lower cost and with fewer long-term risks.

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Product lifecycle management: why it matters for the IVD industry

By Micaela Wochner

For product manufacturers in the medical and diagnostics equipment industry, developing an effective product lifecycle management process is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must have”. From managing the cost of product ownership to transitioning product updates without disruptions in regulatory compliance, a long-term holistic view of product lifecycle management can help you maintain customer loyalty and build trust in new product development.

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Robotics software development kit: how to empower your development team

By Claudio Bui and Yves Wurmitzer

Innovating, developing and bringing a new automated liquid handling product to market quickly, before requirements and needs change, is no easy feat. A software development kit (SDK) supporting your platform and components enables your developers to spend less time worrying about how to control robotic components and more time creating optimal interactions between the end-user and their application. Let’s look in more detail at what a robotics SDK is, what features it should have, and what benefits the right SDK can bring to your development timeline.

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LC-MS/MS immunosuppressant drug monitoring: from promise to reality

By Manuel Bauer 

Advances in the treatment of disease, such as the many different types of cancer and cardiac diseases, mean that organ and bone marrow transplantation is on the rise.1 This rise has in turn generated an increased need for accurate immunosuppressant drug (ISD) monitoring. This 3-part blog series will walk you through the challenges of adapting gold standard mass spec methods such as LC-MS/MS for ISD monitoring, and explore ways to avoid the associated pitfalls.

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Liquid Handling 4.0: what to consider when selecting OEM robotic components

By Claudio Bui

Lab automation and liquid handling solutions are evolving rapidly, shaped by many of the same forces and disruptive technologies that define the fourth industrial revolution. Alongside Industry 4.0, you could say that the era of Liquid Handling 4.0 has arrived. In today’s fast-paced environment where engineers need to develop and adapt analytical platforms rapidly to address new markets and ever-changing applications, the choice of core robotics architecture and components can be crucial for success. Here are some important questions to ask when selecting OEM components and robotic platforms for automated liquid handling.

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Liquid Level Detection: why your pump needs a sixth sense

By David Wold

Taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell…humans rely on five exquisitely powerful senses to negotiate even the most mundane tasks. Liquid handling robots don’t have that luxury; they are required to perform repetitive, high-precision tasks more accurately and reliably than humans could ever manage. Choosing pumps with inbuilt sensors for liquid level detection (LLD) gives your liquid handling pump the “sixth sense” it needs to avoid costly errors and ensure liquid transfer accuracy every time. Here’s what you need to know about LLD when choosing a pump for your automated liquid handling platform.

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Is your OEM partner resting on its laurels? Six ways to tell

By Claudio Bui

Analytical instrumentation is evolving so fast that engineers run the risk of their robotic platforms becoming obsolete before the development cycle can be completed.  The competitive life science instrumentation market is expanding at an impressive 8.2% CAGR and is projected to be worth $85 Billion by 2022.¹ To keep ahead of the rapid rate of change, having a strategic OEM partner that is committed to continuous innovation and improvement is crucial.  How can you be sure that your automation components provider or OEM partner has what it takes to help you deliver your automated liquid handling solution with the reliability and performance your customers expect? Here are some important questions to consider.

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How to find the right technical service support partner for your IVD equipment business

By Petra Popp

Your diagnostics equipment business is growing in leaps and bounds. And no wonder—BCC Research reports that the global market for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products is growing at a rate of 6.7% and should reach $102 billion by 2022.¹ The faster your diagnostics equipment business grows, the harder it may be to deliver the level of service your customers expect. The right service support partner can help you keep pace with growing demand.

Here are six essential criteria to consider when choosing a partner.

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Six reasons why customer service is make-or-break for your lab instruments business

By Petra Popp

Customer service has become a crucial battleground for all types of industries, including life science, medical diagnostics and pharma. A study by NewVoiceMedia1 revealed that customer service plays a significant part in overall customer experience, which is costing companies more than $75 billion a year. Some 67 percent of customers have become “serial switchers,” willing to switch brands because of a poor customer experience, according to the study. Lackluster customer service almost guarantees that the next time your customers have a need they will look elsewhere.

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A 3-point check to simplify liquid handling syringe pump maintenance

By Maria Liwanag

The syringe pump is the workhorse of any automated liquid handling instrument. A single syringe pump may complete one cycle every second, and as many as 4 million cycles in its lifetime. Keeping your pump syringes and components in top condition will allow them to run smoothly and deliver their best performance. Over time, syringes may start to wear, and therefore volumetric and positional precision and accuracy are likely to decline. Maintenance and replacement will restore its performance.

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How pressure sensors are empowering liquid handling monitoring and diagnostics

By David Wold 

The impact of pump pressure sensors on your automated liquid handling pump performance is often underestimated and underappreciated. The saying, “You don't know what you’ve got ‘till it's gone” applies to many things in life – including fluidic pumps. When device sensors are doing their jobs, the end-user will never know, but when the sensor feature fails to perform, the consequences can be costly and catastrophic. Today’s smart technologies empower pressure sensor functionality more than ever. Why are pump pressure sensors essential for automated liquid handling systems? What benefits do they offer? How do they increase functionality and address process security risks?

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The top 5 pitfalls of custom automation

By Hal Wehrenberg

What happens when lab automation projects are unsuccessful? One out-take is learning what creates a stronger process and methodology. That's exactly what we found at Tecan after working with several hundred customers on lab automation for multiple projects. This presentation reveals the top 5 pitfalls of custom automation based on real experience.

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Pumping up genomics: how to engineer better NGS sample prep systems

By David Wold

With high-throughput genomics impacting every corner of biology, the demand for more efficient Next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflows is growing rapidly. Automating the process of NGS sample preparation is crucial to avoid inaccuracies due to human error, bottlenecks that delay sequencing results, and the additional expense of re-running sequences. What are the most important factors for an engineer to consider when selecting a pump to meet the stringent performance required for an automated NGS library preparation system?

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Pumping blood: choosing a liquid handling pump for hematology applications

By David Wold

Today’s hematology labs are faced with escalating demands to deliver robust and accurate blood test results quickly. At the heart of automated diagnostic systems for blood analysis are liquid handling pumps, which must deliver precise and accurate results every time. As well as being reliable, they must also be affordable and easy to maintain. Unfortunately, not all pumps deliver to these exacting standards. What are the most important factors for an engineer to consider when selecting a pump to meet the stringent performance required for a hematology automation system?

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Liquid handling pump selection: a guide for lab automation engineers

By David Wold

From the perspective of a lab automation systems engineer, specifying the optimal liquid handling pump and associated fluidic components is often central to the design process, especially for products that will be used in a clinical lab or other highly regulated environments. What questions should you ask in order to select a pump that can handle all of your system’s intended applications? Here’s what our liquid handling experts from Tecan's OEM Partnering team have to say.

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Five essential software questions to ask before buying a liquid handling instrument

By Hal Wehrenberg

All automation is controlled by software and understanding the differences between options can be complicated. Underestimating the impact of software may set back your budget or critical timelines.

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Automating your anatomical pathology lab: how to get there faster

By Yves Wurmitzer

Anatomical pathology labs face ever-increasing pressure to meet demands for enhanced throughput, improved quality and cost savings. Additionally as we saw in the previous article in this series, anatomical pathology has to adapt to disruptive new methods that replace or enhance traditional ones and automation that will play a key role in reducing waste, error, and hands-on time. Employing automation solutions built for traditional methods can result in compromises in compatibility, throughput, and quality, which mean that novel solutions may be required. In this case, it may be time to consider partnering to develop the automated pathology system that delivers the performance a modern anatomical pathology lab needs.

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Three considerations for reducing risk of ‘just-in-time’ inventory control

By Severin Heynen

As labs face tighter profit margins and the need to minimize cost of goods, there is increasing pressure to implement more efficient and responsive mechanisms for procurement and inventory management. A large proportion of annual spend goes towards consumables like disposable pipette tips, microplates and kits. Procurement strategies based on lean and ‘just-in-time’ principles can improve cost-efficiency by reducing overhead and warehousing expenses. However, this often comes with a significant risk: without enough data about both availability of consumables and what you have in stock, you could run into costly unexpected out-of-stock scenarios. Here are three essential questions to ask when looking to reduce the risks of creating leaner, ‘just-in-time’ procurement processes.

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How to secure long-term performance of OEM components for automated liquid handling

By Claudio Bui

When you design a complex laboratory automation system or device, every OEM liquid handling component that you integrate into it should be reliable, dependable and expected to perform to the highest industry standards.  Subpar quality is not an option. If the intended use of the system includes critical tests for clinical diagnostic purposes, the consequences of failure or poor performance of liquid handling components could be more costly than you bargained for, including irreparable damage to your company’s reputation and even worse – it could pose serious risks to patients’ health. Integrating components into your system that are reliable and have a durable design should be an essential consideration.

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11 key points to install and efficiently initiate a new automated assay system in your laboratory

By Hal Wehrenberg

Congratulations. It took you quite some time and effort to convince your management or institution on the value of investing in automating your experimental or clinical workflow. The applications were submitted, the presentations were made and the wheeling and dealing to secure the budget resulted in you and your team landing the investment. You've arrived. Now all you have to do is choose the robot and get it up and running.

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Six tips to help match your liquid handling components with chemical compatibility

By Claudio Bui

The demand for advanced medical and diagnostic testing continues to accelerate. Laboratories, hospitals, and emerging consumer genomics companies are demanding quicker test sequences resulting in the design and development of new innovative and responsive test protocols. These new tests include the handling of a wide array of fluids. The measurement, monitoring, mixing, and controlling of solvents, salts, detergents, acids, bases, reagents, and additives is critical in all liquid handling lab environments.

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Adapt or perish? Anatomical pathology labs at a tipping point

By Yves Wurmitzer



The anatomical pathology – or histopathology – services sector is projected to grow, but histopathology labs the world over are struggling in the face of shortages in trained pathologists, increasing regulatory pressure, changing reimbursement policies, and shifting paradigms in healthcare. Modernization of this highly conservative field is imperative. What are the key drivers of change in the industry, and how can anatomical pathology labs prepare to embrace the future? Will automation and digitalization offer a solution?



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Get a competitive edge in clinical markets with modular OEM solutions

By Markus Vogler

The last decade has seen dramatic changes in the world of diagnostics, with experts even referring to the present time as the start of the fourth industrial revolution. Digitalization, along with other technological advances such as the increased use of automation and robotics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, is impacting every industry from manufacturing to pharmaceutical biotechnology. These technologies, as well as breakthrough research in various fields such as gene editing, stem cell technology and regenerative medicine, are having a huge impact on the clinical diagnostics industry.

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The next giant in genome sequencing? China

By Nicholas Smith


As  sequencing grows significantly in China, how are Chinese home-grown companies making the most of it?



In December 2017, the UK and China announced a joint initiative to advance collaboration in science and innovation¹. The first bilateral science and innovation strategy of its kind to be developed by China jointly with another country, the UK-China Joint Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation builds on existing collaborations dating back to 2014, and represents yet another step change in China’s efforts to grow their leadership in healthcare markets. On the back of initiatives such as this, China’s home-grown companies are forging new partnerships internationally, and are well positioned to flourish as a result.

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Embracing change in clinical labs and in vitro diagnostics: 6 lessons from the automotive industry

By Markus Vogler

Similar to the highly competitive automobile industry, clinical laboratories and manufacturers servicing the clinical diagnostics and life science markets, are always under pressure to increase quality and reliability. Likewise, they must at the same time cut costs and bring new products to market in a climate of rapid global change and increasing regulatory pressures. Specialist car manufacturers are leading the way with innovative new approaches to cope with the challenges. Those who are successful have learned how to be more adaptable and how to get their innovative products to market faster.

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Four disruptive trends that are shaping the future of clinical diagnostics

By Markus Vogler

The world of diagnostics, like so many other industries, is entering what leaders in the World Economic Forum are calling the fourth industrial revolution. Digitalization, robotization and automation have given rise to highly flexible “smart factories” as well as laboratories that can handle both routine/high volume analyses and highly customized analyses at competitive prices. This is coupled with an ongoing integration of the entire value chain – from subcontractor to customer.

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Reversing drug R&D productivity declines: Spotlight on small biotech

By Simon Fogarty

The growing productivity crisis in drug discovery and development is forcing pharmaceutical companies large and small around the globe to rethink their research and development (R&D) strategies. As investors look to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for bigger returns, what will it take to maximize productivity and thrive in these challenging times?

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Six questions to ask before choosing liquid handling robotic components for faster time to market

By Claudio Bui

When introducing a new product to the automated liquid handling market, getting there first with high quality and reliable hardware is vital to capturing and maintaining early market leadership. How can you gain that advantage when you have to balance requirements for customized high-performance robotics against an accelerated product launch?

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Make versus buy strategy:  Why, when, and how to use a liquid handling OEM components partner

By Claudio Bui

When designing products that include automated liquid handling, how do you decide when and what to buy from an OEM components supplier vs. designing in-house? How do you then decide who will be the right partner for you?  A well-planned “make versus buy” analysis and OEM-components partnering strategy can significantly augment the expertise of your own team. It can free up internal resources for other projects, reduce long-term costs, and ultimately help get your products to market faster.

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How to stay ahead of the pack on your next liquid handling automation project

By Claudio Bui

Everyone knows if you work harder and faster you’ll get done sooner, but then many are left wondering why they didn’t get to market first. It may seem simple, but when it comes to life science laboratory automation it’s not as easy as it seems.

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Make your lab work flow with Fluent ID™

By Florence Collins

A long-term clinical lab study lasting over 10 years showed that more than 60% of all mistakes in the stat lab (the lab that receives high priority samples) can be attributed to the pre-analytical phase. This figure has not changed much from 1997 to 2007,1, 2 despite advances in the technology.

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How automated test tube barcoding adds reliability and stops unnecessary errors

By Florence Collins

Scinomix, Inc., founded in 2001, creates customized solutions for labeling tubes, vials and plates in many life science applications. We took the chance to ask Nigel Malterer (CEO) and Jonathan King (Automation Software Engineer) at Scinomix about how automated barcode labeling solutions are helping to improve productivity, reduce errors and costs, and increase control over lab workflows.

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How to make the right choice for barcoding sample tubes

By Florence Collins

Barcodes play a central role in minimizing the risk of error in lab automation by providing secure tracking of components throughout the workflow. Barcode-guided lab automation can be simple and cost-effective, with significant paybacks thanks to productivity increases. 

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Options to Reduce Time-to-Market with Your Next Liquid Handling Instrument Development Project

By Claudio Bui

When developing a liquid handling instrument, it is important to be first to market for early market leadership. Dr. Claudio Bui, Head of Product Concepts, Tecan, considers key elements to completing a project quickly and efficiently, including common pitfalls.

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The leader in next generation immunodiagnostics

By Nicholas Smith

Jeff Bishop, Vice President, Research & Development, Singulex, explains the proprietary single molecule counting (SMC™) technology which has become today’s gold standard for immunoassay technology.

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The economics of robotics

By Martin Braendle

Robotics and automation have become essential to the future plans of drug discovery and clinical diagnostic companies. Executives are looking to increase productivity and reduce costs, and automation fits the bill in every respect.

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"Self aware" automation - SLAS 2016 presentation

By Hal Wehrenberg

What happens when the robots in your lab become self aware? Take a closer look at this issue and the possibilities by watching this presentation on self-aware automation from SLAS 2016. 

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