Fully Automated Molecular Diagnostic Solutions Find a Home in Hospital Laboratories
New Load-and-Walk-Away Systems Promise Rapid Turnaround Times and Multi-Target Testing
Laboratory Automation is one important reason why more community hospital laboratories and local pathology groups can now perform a growing menu of molecular diagnostic tests. Rapid innovations in automation technology now make it possible for even low-volume medical laboratories to perform molecular testing using highly-automated “load and walk away” molecular analyzers.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may be surprised to learn that the market for these simple-to-use automated analyzers is actually becoming crowded. There are at least five companies that now make bench top automated nucleic acid testing systems. These systems are designed to enable medium and low volume labs to compete in the nucleic acid testing arena. It is one reason why the number of community hospital laboratories and local anatomic pathology group practices are establishing molecular testing programs.
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