Robotic automation of coagulation analysis.

Laboratory automation systems (LAS) have been installed in over 22 sites across North America providing automation of many preanalytical and analytical tasks in clinical laboratories. Only a few laboratories have automated the analysis of citrated whole blood for the diagnosis of hemostasis disorders. The analysis of coagulation factors in citrated blood requires a large amount of labor in order to provide rapid turnaround; thus automation of this analytical process is attractive. Therefore, we have created an automated coagulation workstation using a systematic approach to automation design and engineering. First, we used discrete event simulation to calculate potential throughput and to identify possible bottlenecks for the proposed coagulation workcell. We then created a three-dimensional animated computer model of the workstation to simplify workstation design. Finally, we constructed a prototype workcell using a mobile robot, an articulated robotic arm, and a coagulation analytical system. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.