Optimization and adaptation of the diagnostic capacity for the performance of large volumes of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR

Camacho‐Martínez, Pedro; Martín-Gutiérrez, Guillermo; Peñalva, Germán; Merino-Díaz, Laura; Lepe, José Antonio Suárez

doi:10.1016/j.eimce.2022.05.001

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…During the study period, we adapted to the different waves and changes in the surveillance policies of our autonomous community. It should be considered that most of the major hospitals in our country had open robotic systems available to increase their diagnostic capacity [11,12]. However, as a small setting, we did not have such platforms accessible, mainly due to space beyond economic reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing a molecular laboratory in COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of a regional laboratory in Spain

Moure

Cuadros

Pablo-Marcos

et al. 2023

AMicr

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The high demand for COVID-19 diagnosis overwhelmed reference hospitals. Regional laboratories had to incorporate molecular technology to respond to the emergency. This work described the implementation of molecular diagnostic tools and the detection of SARS-CoV-2, in a regional hospital with no previous experience, from October 2020 to March 2022. The laboratory structure was significantly modified. The staff grew from 3 to 4 clinical microbiologists, and from 7 to 17 laboratory technicians to provide 24/7 coverage. A total of 144,442 samples were processed during the period of study. The highest peaks were reached in July 2021 with 25,285 samples processed, and between December 2021 and January 2022, with 32,245. COVID-19 pandemic has represented not only the challenge, but the opportunity to introduce Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques (NAAT) in inexperienced laboratories. These secondary settings have shown an extraordinary ability to adapt and cannot be left behind in the progress of diagnostic techniques.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing a molecular laboratory in COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of a regional laboratory in Spain

Moure

Cuadros

Pablo-Marcos

et al. 2023

AMicr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Moreover, the inclusion and utilisation of a liquid handling device was decided on the basis that it helped to solve a specific problem or overcome certain challenges. Most of the applications shown in Table 2 are related to the ability to process a large number of samples in a short period of time [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. This is one of the most evident technical advantages of a liquid handling device to be used for the execution of a simple task, i.e., dispensing of some liquid into a specific location, which can become time-consuming when performed at scale.…”

Section: Specific Applications Of Lhdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An example of how relevant scheduling becomes was observed in the utilisation of liquid handlers for SARS-CoV-2 testing. With automation, it was expected that all samples arriving at a test facility could have been processed daily provided that the capacity of the liquid handling platforms was not exceeded, but this was not necessarily reported to be the case, with the platforms reporting up to 90% of the results within 24 hours [28]. While this is a fast turnover, provided the restrictions imposed by the pandemic setting, an improved scheduling might be implemented as required depending on the type of the application.…”

Section: Specific Applications Of Lhdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated liquid-handling operations for robust, resilient, and efficient bio-based laboratory practices

Torres‐Acosta

Lye

Dikicioglu

2022

Preprint

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Increase in the adoption of liquid handling devices (LHD) can facilitate experimental activities. Initially adopted by businesses and industry-based laboratories, the practice has also moved to academic environments, where a wide range of non-standard/non-typical experiments can be performed. Current protocols or laboratory analyses require researchers to transfer liquids for the purpose of dilution, mixing, or inoculation, among other operations. LHD can render laboratories more efficient by performing more experiments per unit of time, by making operations robust and resilient against external factors and unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by remote operation. The present work reviews literature that reported the adoption and utilisation of LHD available in the market and presents examples of their practical use. Applications demonstrate the critical role of automation in research development and its ability to reduce human intervention in the experimental workflow. Ultimately, this work will provide guidance to academic researchers to determine which LHD can fulfil their needs and how to exploit their use in both conventional and non-conventional applications. Furthermore, the breadth of applications and the scarcity of academic institutions involved in research and development that utilise these devices highlights an important area of opportunity for shift in technology to maximize research outcomes.

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“…It reduces dependency on highly-trained personnel and helps to minimize human errors. Integrating automation platforms is particularly beneficial for diagnostics laboratories, where infectious samples are routinely handled, and accurate, rapid diagnostic results are critical [8][9][10]. Furthermore, laboratory automation increases operational capacity in clinical workflows, improves logistics, and enables onsite testing and rapid decision-making in patient management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Automated Versatile Diagnostic Workflow for Infectious Disease Detection in Low-Resource Settings

Urrutia Iturritza,

Mlotshwa,

Gantelius

et al. 2024

Micromachines

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Laboratory automation effectively increases the throughput in sample analysis, reduces human errors in sample processing, as well as simplifies and accelerates the overall logistics. Automating diagnostic testing workflows in peripheral laboratories and also in near-patient settings -like hospitals, clinics and epidemic control checkpoints- is advantageous for the simultaneous processing of multiple samples to provide rapid results to patients, minimize the possibility of contamination or error during sample handling or transport, and increase efficiency. However, most automation platforms are expensive and are not easily adaptable to new protocols. Here, we address the need for a versatile, easy-to-use, rapid and reliable diagnostic testing workflow by combining open-source modular automation (Opentrons) and automation-compatible molecular biology protocols, easily adaptable to a workflow for infectious diseases diagnosis by detection on paper-based diagnostics. We demonstrated the feasibility of automation of the method with a low-cost Neisseria meningitidis diagnostic test that utilizes magnetic beads for pathogen DNA isolation, isothermal amplification, and detection on a paper-based microarray. In summary, we integrated open-source modular automation with adaptable molecular biology protocols, which was also faster and cheaper to perform in an automated than in a manual way. This enables a versatile diagnostic workflow for infectious diseases and we demonstrated this through a low-cost N. meningitidis test on paper-based microarrays.

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Optimization and adaptation of the diagnostic capacity for the performance of large volumes of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Establishing a molecular laboratory in COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of a regional laboratory in Spain

Establishing a molecular laboratory in COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of a regional laboratory in Spain

Automated liquid-handling operations for robust, resilient, and efficient bio-based laboratory practices

An Automated Versatile Diagnostic Workflow for Infectious Disease Detection in Low-Resource Settings

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