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Effects of Automation on Sustainability of Immunohistochemistry Laboratory
Marija Đorđević1, Maja Životić2, Sanja Radojević Škodrić2,3
1Faculty of Organization Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11010 Belgrade, Serbia.
Insights
Automating immunohistochemistry (IHC) slide staining significantly reduces processing time by 15.22% and lowers costs by 37.27%, enhancing healthcare sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Laboratory Medicine
- Pathology
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare systems, leading to staff shortages and increased reliance on automation.
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) laboratories handle high volumes of daily slide staining.
- Addressing resource limitations necessitates evaluating laboratory process efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the time and cost efficiency of manual versus automated IHC slide staining.
- To assess the impact of automation on laboratory workflow and resource utilization.
- To determine the contribution of IHC automation to healthcare system sustainability.
Main Methods:
- A comparative analysis of manual and automated IHC staining processes.
- Processing of 48 microscope slides, the maximum capacity for the DAKO Autostainer Link 48, in a single cycle.
- Measurement of total procedure time and calculation of per-slide costs for both methods.
Main Results:
- Automated IHC staining completed a cycle of 48 slides in 390 minutes, compared to 460 minutes for manual staining (15.22% time reduction).
- The cost per slide for automated IHC was 7.69 EUR, versus 12.26 EUR for manual staining (37.27% cost reduction).
- Automation demonstrated significant improvements in both time and cost efficiency.
Conclusions:
- Automation of IHC procedures offers substantial reductions in processing time and costs.
- IHC automation is a key strategy for enhancing the sustainability of healthcare systems, particularly in overcoming human resource challenges.
- The findings support the increased adoption of automated IHC staining in laboratory settings.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world recently caused numerous changes affecting the health system in every department. Reduced staff numbers, mostly due to illness, led to an increase in automation at every stage of laboratory work. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) laboratory conducts a high volume of slide staining every day. Therefore, we analyzed time and total costs required to obtain IHC slides in both the manual and automated way, comparing their efficiency by processing the same sample volume (48 microscope slides-the maximum capacity that an automated immunostainer-DAKO, Autostainer Link 48, Part No AS48030-can process over a single cycle). The total IHC procedure time to run 48 slides manually by one technician was 460 min, while the automated process finished a cycle within 390 min (15.22% less time). The final cost of a single manual IHC slide was 12.26 EUR and 7.69 EUR for slides labeled in the automated immunostainer, which reduced final costs by 37.27%. Thus, automation of the IHC procedure reduces the time and costs of the IHC process, contributing significantly to the sustainability of the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic, overcoming insufficient human resources.
