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What overall volume of specimens makes the purchase or reagent rental of an automated Microbiology specimen processor realistic?

Every lab and every situation are different. There are a number of factors that impact the viability and need for automation in the front end of Microbiology. For example, in the US, each year the number of students graduating from medical tech schools is considerably lower than the number of retiring med techs. This is resulting in a national shortage of med techs. So, in those cases the question changes from volume of specimens to the ability to hire or maintain the adequate staff with the right skill set to meet the workload demand. My best recommendation is to work together with the equipment manufacturer to develop a return on investment model that helps you determine the value analysis. Copan works together with our prospective customers to develop a feasibility study that includes workflow analysis and a customized ROI model.

Tried the "FAQ" link but its not working ... I've seen 3 systems for automated specimen processing and they are very exciting. What is on the horizon for a community hospital microbiology lab which gets about 65-75 urine cultures and around 40-50 of all other NON-blood cultures combined.

For smaller community hospitals, sometimes it is a challenge to justify new automation. Understanding that challenge, Copan is continuously working to broaden its appeal through its modular design with the addition of applications that go beyond just planting and streaking. The open system of WASP® allows for the implementation of new functions like the recently launched GramSlide Prep module for gram slide preparation and the ability to simultaneously inoculate enrichment broths while streaking plates. The modularity of the system helps justify the investment in community hospitals because it ensures that you are investing in something that is useful today and into the future. This helps broaden the instrument’s horizon in that it is not just about volume, but about really releasing staff from Microbiology specimen processing by automating specimen set-up entirely.

Are urine specimens appropriate as the sole means for screening
pregnant women for Group B Streptococcus colonization? We do not feel that
urines are the appropriate specimen (rather than vaginal/rectal swabs), but
one of our physicians likes to use them because of the ease to the patient
in collection.

The guidelines for screening pregnant women for Group B Streptococcus
colonization are very specific and can be found on document titled the
"Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease Revised Guidelines
from CDC" (Schrag, S., R. Gorwitz, K. Fultz-Butts, and A.Schuchat. 2002.
Prevention of group B streptococcal disease. Revised guidelines from CDC.
MMWR Recommend. Rep. 51(RR-11):1*22).

The procedure for collecting clinical specimens for culture of group B
streptococcus at 35*37 weeks* gestation indicates:
"Swab the lower vagina (vaginal introitus), followed by the rectum (i.e.
insert swab through the anal sphincter) using the same swab or two different
swabs. Cultures should be collected in the outpatient setting by the
healthcare provider or the patient herself, with appropriate instruction.
Cervical cultures are not recommended and a speculum should not be used for
culture collection."

What experiences, good or bad, have you had with the Previ Isola by bioMerieux? Does it save on labor cost and does it improve turn around time?

While I haven’t had personal experience with the Previ Isola by bioMerieux, in recent years, there have been two different articles published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology about Automated Specimen Processors, the subject of one being specific to the Previ Isola, JCM, J. H. Glasson, L. H. Guthrie, D. J. Nielsen, and F. A. Bethell, 2008, 46:1281, and the other reference is JCM, P. Bourbeau and B. L. Swartz, 2009, 47:1101-1106.



In order to optimize labor and time savings, one should consider all the aspects involved in Microbiology specimen processing. If you are contemplating investing in this arena, the solution should be comprehensive and fully automate all of the aspects involved in specimen processing: the actual handling of the containers (opening and closing), planting and streaking of the sample, gram stain slide preparation and enrichment broth inoculation.