Adapting mobile robotic technology to intralaboratory specimen transport

Area of Science:

• Clinical Laboratory Science
• Robotics in Healthcare
• Logistics and Automation

Background:

• Clinical laboratories handle a high volume of patient specimens requiring timely transport.
• Manual specimen transport is labor-intensive and can be a bottleneck in laboratory workflow.
• Implementing automation can optimize specimen logistics and improve operational efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the implementation and performance of two inexpensive robotic vehicles for patient specimen transport.
• To assess the impact of robotic vehicles on laboratory operations, staff satisfaction, and financial costs.

Main Methods:

• Two identical robotic vehicles were studied over 13 months in a large academic medical center's clinical laboratory.
• The vehicles replaced 1.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) for specimen transport.
• Key performance indicators included routes completed, distance traveled, operational uptime, problem occurrences, and financial payback.

Main Results:

• Robotic vehicles traveled an average of over 2000 routes and 212 km per month, maintaining at least one vehicle operational at all times.
• The most common issues were navigational problems due to obstacles; however, these decreased significantly over time.
• Financial payback for the robotic vehicles was achieved in less than one year.

Conclusions:

• Robotic vehicles successfully completed 99.4% of assigned routes, demonstrating high reliability.
• Laboratory personnel reported improved job ease and specimen delivery timeliness.
• Projected 5-year savings are estimated at approximately $200,000 (US), highlighting the economic benefits of laboratory automation.