Automated colony counting improves patient care

Synbiosis reports that its Protocol automated colony counter, is being used at one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals, to quickly control the spread of bacterial infections

Scientists in the hospital are using the Protocol in conjunction with a Wasp automated spiral plater, to speed up examination of large numbers of clinical samples, for potentially life threatening bacteria such as, MRSA, salmonella and clostridium.

A biomedical scientist at the hospital explained: "We need to count a large number of spiral plates containing different agar types and bacteria every day.

"We have to produce accurate results rapidly because patients' lives can depend on getting the correct treatment in time, and using a Protocol is the only practical way we can do this.

"We chose the system because other departments at a nearby university were using the Protocol and Wasp in combination and were happy with their capabilities.

"When we tested the Protocol and found it could perform accurate counts in seconds, we knew it would be ideal for us," continued the scientist.

Martin Smith for Synbiosis added: "We have worked closely with a leading manufacturer of spiral platers for many years to ensure Synbiosis systems analyse spiral plates consistently and reproducibly.

"The work at this major hospital demonstrates how a Protocol makes it easy for clinical microbiologist to save valuable time by automating spiral plate counts and, more importantly, how this can help protect public health.

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