Hepatitis Testing Performance of an Analyzer Integrated into Another Manufacturer's Automation System

The capacity to integrate platforms across vendors and disciplines has become an essential feature in the design of total laboratory automation (TLA) due space and test menu constraints. However, data on its performance are lacking. We aim to evaluate an integrated third-party immunoassay platform to the TLA system for the performance of hepatitis testing using turnaround time (TAT).

We use the Beckman Power Express (PE) system with linked 2 Beckman AU5800, 2 Beckman DxI 800, 2 Abbott Architect i2000, and other accessory components. The PE system is managed and interfaced to the laboratory information system (LIS) through Beckman Remisol (middleware) and Cennexus (track software). The hepatitis tests are performed on the Abbott Architect i2000 using Abbott Instrument Manager (middleware) for test results and this is interfaced with LIS and Cennexus. Using Viewics and Microsoft Excel, the test volumes and TAT of hepatitis results were analyzed before (February 2017 to January 2018) and after (February 2018 to January 2019) integration.

The TAT for each hepatitis test has decreased significantly, ranging from 13 to 81-minute reductions (P value <0.0001 for all tests) after instrument integration. The standard deviations of the TAT also decreased for each test. In addition, savings in labor expenditure of around 2 hours per day were observed. There were no laboratory space savings identified. Instead, 47.6 square foot more of space was utilized by the track connection lines.

Our findings show significant improvement of TAT of hepatitis testing with the integration of the third-party Abbott Architect i2000 to Beckman PE system. In addition, the synchronization of multiple middleware for specimen management and result reporting allow the laboratory to achieve new efficiencies handling reflex tests and managing human resources.