A.i. Scientific (A.i.) and Data Innovations (DI) announced a partnership whereby DI’s Instrument Manager (IM) will be offered with all A.i. Scientific’s new PathFinder laboratory automation platforms. The Pathfinder 900 is a fully automated Tube Management System, designed to manage pre- and post-analytical sorting, decapping, aliquoting, recapping, storage and tracking in a laboratory. The PathFinder 350S is a smaller bench top unit for pre- and post- analytical sorting, archiving and tracking of presented samples. 

For each tube presented to a Pathfinder system, IM uses test orders supplied by the LIS to determine the appropriate processing sequence for each sample to be performed by PathFinder, for example, from sorting into one or more destination racks to the preparation of multiple duplicate tubes from a primary sample. Each primary sample can be presented one or more times and each time IM provides the direction based on the routing rules and priorities for handling different test requests along with the test status of each sample.

The PathFinder systems can also be used in conjunction with Specimen Storage and Retrieval, an optional IM module, to track stored specimens.  IM receives sorting information from the PathFinder systems and tracks location and carrier information allowing rapid look up and retrieval of tubes.