HOW MUCH AUTOMATION WE NEED IN DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY ?
Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Topic of Interest to Medical Microbiologists The world of laboratory medicine is for a change, when we are not having any methods to automate we will be fascinated to handling the automation, and ignorant minds think many headaches are over and some machine takes care of the matters, truly the scenario is more different, Laboratories today face increasing pressure to automate their operations as they are challenged by a continuing increase in workload, need to reduce expenditure, and difficulties in recruitment of experienced technical staff.,Microbiology is getting automated In the twenty-first century, the clinical microbiology laboratory plays a central part in optimizing the management of infectious diseases and surveying local and global epidemiology. This pivotal role is made possible by the adoption of rational sampling, point-of-care tests, extended automation and new technologies, including mass spectrometry for colony identification, real-time genomics for isolate characterization, and versatile and permissive culture systems, you spend most of your day doing something that is likely to be automated a few years down the track you should be concerned. But if you are doing lots of things daily that could be getting carried out by someone else less qualified, you should be even more worried. Matter soon go out of your control, truly we have to dependent on a persons who produce faster results, without understanding the true content of the test . The great problem we face in India like many developing countries or even developed countries is technical support which continues to be a continuous bottleneck, and also we encounter hardware and software problems, “When it works, it’s the best thing in the world, but when it doesn’t, it’s stressful. You have to spend time on the phone with technical support and can’t work.” If the system is down for any length of time, priority and stat specimens can still be run on the system’s, We must have good planning to start and do the things with automation , “Return on investment” is the driving force behind most systems purchased today. The private managements think how fast they get returns in the new purchases, The philosophy is No Loss only Profit , Not to forget Most of the machines get outdated, After all, Japan operates with far fewer staff than US laboratories of similar size. With proper planning and a willingness to alter current processes, “With microbial resistance to antibiotics on the rise, laboratories are faced with new challenges. Rapid detection of resistance is critical to the proper treatment of patients. Many hospitals are on the path to rapid culture of Blood and other body fluids which are inherently sterile as CSF Pericardial and peritoneal fluids etc with Bactec and Vitek 2 and (MALDI-TOF) technologies , the true problem in India continues to be costs ,Automated microbiology is fast, but the costs per test, and initial capital investment is quite high, as with progress of more technologies we will see more automation and many doctors will utilize the credited and automated laboratories CAN WE AUTOMATE MICROBIOLOGY IN TOTO Microbiology is too complex to automate.In comparison to chemistry and hematology specimens of laboratories, most of which are blood or urine based and utilize a limited selection of tube sizes, microbiology specimens are much more complex. Think with wisdom can we automate totally
1 Urine
2 Sputum
3 Fecal specimens
4 Wound swabs, and post surgical site infections
5 Parasitic and Fungal infections
No machine can replace a human in the microbiology laboratory.A long-standing mantra is that humans are generally considered capable of performing tasks faster than machines and that machines cannot think. The perception that machines cannot exercise the critical decision-making skills required to process microbiology specimens has persisted. Specifically, human observation of organism growth on agar plates is still considered essential by many. While machines are programmable, humans are more flexible.
WHAT IS FUTURE OF DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY Over the next decade, microbiology labs will see significant transformation from discrete manual processes to fully / partially automated systems, allowing labs to increase throughput, enhance traceability, reduce costs, and, ultimately, improve patient care.Whatever is said Microbiological diagnosis is a complex task truly it will be dangerous to take decisions and treatment on just automated results, we are entering an age of monumental change for clinical microbiology laboratories. While a precise assessment of the full impact of these changes is in its infancy, there is no doubt in our minds that the benefits of automation on laboratory efficiency and indirectly on clinical care will be profound.
Postgraduate and Newer Generation of Microbiologists to read more at
Ref and Resource Automation in Clinical Microbiology Paul P. Bourbeaua and Nathan A. Ledeboerb Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Dr.T.V Rao MD
Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Topic of Interest to Medical Microbiologists The world of laboratory medicine is for a change, when we are not having any methods to automate we will be fascinated to handling the automation, and ignorant minds think many headaches are over and some machine takes care of the matters, truly the scenario is more different, Laboratories today face increasing pressure to automate their operations as they are challenged by a continuing increase in workload, need to reduce expenditure, and difficulties in recruitment of experienced technical staff.,Microbiology is getting automated In the twenty-first century, the clinical microbiology laboratory plays a central part in optimizing the management of infectious diseases and surveying local and global epidemiology. This pivotal role is made possible by the adoption of rational sampling, point-of-care tests, extended automation and new technologies, including mass spectrometry for colony identification, real-time genomics for isolate characterization, and versatile and permissive culture systems, you spend most of your day doing something that is likely to be automated a few years down the track you should be concerned. But if you are doing lots of things daily that could be getting carried out by someone else less qualified, you should be even more worried. Matter soon go out of your control, truly we have to dependent on a persons who produce faster results, without understanding the true content of the test . The great problem we face in India like many developing countries or even developed countries is technical support which continues to be a continuous bottleneck, and also we encounter hardware and software problems, “When it works, it’s the best thing in the world, but when it doesn’t, it’s stressful. You have to spend time on the phone with technical support and can’t work.” If the system is down for any length of time, priority and stat specimens can still be run on the system’s, We must have good planning to start and do the things with automation , “Return on investment” is the driving force behind most systems purchased today. The private managements think how fast they get returns in the new purchases, The philosophy is No Loss only Profit , Not to forget Most of the machines get outdated, After all, Japan operates with far fewer staff than US laboratories of similar size. With proper planning and a willingness to alter current processes, “With microbial resistance to antibiotics on the rise, laboratories are faced with new challenges. Rapid detection of resistance is critical to the proper treatment of patients. Many hospitals are on the path to rapid culture of Blood and other body fluids which are inherently sterile as CSF Pericardial and peritoneal fluids etc with Bactec and Vitek 2 and (MALDI-TOF) technologies , the true problem in India continues to be costs ,Automated microbiology is fast, but the costs per test, and initial capital investment is quite high, as with progress of more technologies we will see more automation and many doctors will utilize the credited and automated laboratories CAN WE AUTOMATE MICROBIOLOGY IN TOTO Microbiology is too complex to automate.In comparison to chemistry and hematology specimens of laboratories, most of which are blood or urine based and utilize a limited selection of tube sizes, microbiology specimens are much more complex. Think with wisdom can we automate totally
1 Urine
2 Sputum
3 Fecal specimens
4 Wound swabs, and post surgical site infections
5 Parasitic and Fungal infections
No machine can replace a human in the microbiology laboratory.A long-standing mantra is that humans are generally considered capable of performing tasks faster than machines and that machines cannot think. The perception that machines cannot exercise the critical decision-making skills required to process microbiology specimens has persisted. Specifically, human observation of organism growth on agar plates is still considered essential by many. While machines are programmable, humans are more flexible.
WHAT IS FUTURE OF DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY Over the next decade, microbiology labs will see significant transformation from discrete manual processes to fully / partially automated systems, allowing labs to increase throughput, enhance traceability, reduce costs, and, ultimately, improve patient care.Whatever is said Microbiological diagnosis is a complex task truly it will be dangerous to take decisions and treatment on just automated results, we are entering an age of monumental change for clinical microbiology laboratories. While a precise assessment of the full impact of these changes is in its infancy, there is no doubt in our minds that the benefits of automation on laboratory efficiency and indirectly on clinical care will be profound.
Postgraduate and Newer Generation of Microbiologists to read more at
Ref and Resource Automation in Clinical Microbiology Paul P. Bourbeaua and Nathan A. Ledeboerb Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Dr.T.V Rao MD
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