Copan has enhanced its Walk-Away Specimen Processor (Wasp) with new features for automatic planting and streaking of all microbiology samples.
At the 110th general meeting for the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego, California, the company unveiled new features including automatic gram slide preparation, the ability to place two different patient samples on one plate, inoculation and labelling of enrichment broths, and higher-throughput capability with the Dual Streaker.
Depending on the type of specimen, specimen processing of bacteriology samples consists of three different steps: planting and streaking of the sample; gram slide preparation for doing gram stains; and inoculation of enrichment broths for sub-culturing.
All three steps are important routine tasks that need to be done properly to ensure a reliable and accurate diagnosis, but are also very manual and require a lot of the technologist's time and effort.
Until recently, in the field of automated specimen processing for bacteriology samples, processing had been defined and limited to planting and streaking.
Automating planting and streaking was a much-needed solution in a time of increasing workloads and diminishing resources.
However, planting and streaking instruments on the market solved only one step of specimen processing.
Reducing repetitive stress injuries was one of the main factors sparking interest in automation in the front end of microbiology.
'After launching the Wasp, Copan was constantly asked about the other two steps of specimen processing, gram slide preparation and inoculation of pre-enrichment broths, because, while specimen processors manage the laborious task of planting and streaking diverse sample types, technologists still had to return to the specimen to open, sample and close to perform the two tasks that complete the specimen processing cycle,' said Norman Sharples, executive vice-president of Copan Diagnostics.
In response to customers' request, Copan developed the Wasp in a modular way to accommodate future needs for automation.
At the meeting, Copan launched the Gram Slideprep, which is a module designed to prepare a gram slide after the sample has been inoculated onto culture plates by the Wasp and to permanently inkjet directly onto the glass slide the patient's barcode and specimen descriptors.
The inkjet labelling withstands all solvents and reagents used during processing, eliminating the need for a paper label.
Judy Reid, regional technical specialist at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's microbiology laboratory, said: 'The gram stain module looks very exciting since now the Wasp can also prepare and label the gram smears.
'This will further reduce the manual workload and result in a more consistent gram stain and eliminate mislabelling of slides,' she added.
In addition to the Gram Slideprep module, Copan's Wasp can also inoculate enrichment broths, like Lim and Selenite, and automatically place a barcode on tubed media, while processing plated media at the same time.
