Laboratory automization
As the numbers of laboratory technicians grow smaller, it will become increasingly necessary to use automation technologies in laboratory settings.
Using advanced robotic systems that can operate autonomously with little to no intervention will enable laboratory technicians to work in smaller numbers while still delivering high performance with a low error rate.
EXAMPLE 1:
Beckman Coulter, a manufacturer of laboratory automation technologies, is partnering up with Smart4Diagnostics, a young player on the market offering solutions to close the data gap of samples in preanalytics. This is driven by a risk of faulty sample collection, storage, and transportation. According to Beckman Colter, up to 75% of errors occur outside of the laboratory and each can cost up to 200€.
EXAMPLE 2:
Insilico Medicine, one of the leading companies offering artificial intelligence solutions for the medical sector, continuously researches novel tools that will help scientists with new drug discoveries, estimation of the success of clinical trials, and more.
Recently they acquired $60 million in financing which, partially, will go toward developing a fully autonomous laboratory with advanced robotics and artificial intelligence for drug discovery.
Expert Statement Alexander Haushofer:
We’ve discussed a project like this before, what you can do with tubes. I think that the marking of tubes in terms of temperature, correct filling, vibration, and time of acceptance, will improve that significantly. If there’s a microchip in there like that if we can get some, from China, of course. But there’s something in there. Maybe at some point, there will be a better method that you don’t have to centrifuge blood, but somehow you can treat it differently, that you can get to the serum or plasma faster, and so on. And these are the things. There are 100 approaches, but nothing is reasonable at the moment.
Expert Statement Stephan Famler:
Greiner Bio-One has to always think about, how can we build systems, that can run with almost zero healthcare professionals. Highly automatically, highly reliable, because we are running out of biomedical technicians.