ARTEL Streamlines Quality Control for Automated Liquid Handlers with New MVS Feature

ARTEL has advanced the automation of its MVS^® Multichannel Verification System for streamlined liquid delivery performance verification of automated liquid handlers. The MVS is a rapid, easy-to-use system that provides NIST-traceable accuracy and precision data documenting the volume dispense performance of each channel of an automated liquid handler. New enhancements to the system facilitate in-process quality control assessment and minimize manual intervention during volume verification protocols for time savings and added convenience.

ARTEL will demonstrate the MVS as an integrated QC system at Lab Automation (booth #551), January 27-29, 2008 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, CA.

“The more frequently laboratories verify the performance of their automated liquid handlers, the stronger their confidence is in the data produced,” says Tanya Knaide, MVS Product Manager, ARTEL. “By improving the integration capabilities of the ARTEL MVS, we are making it even easier for automated liquid handler users to test instrument operation on a continuous basis and reduce the propensity for laboratory error.”

The new MVS integration feature facilitates in-process liquid handler quality control by measuring dispensed volumes in multiple microtiter plates without repeated manual input. This function allows laboratory technicians to spend less time performing equipment quality control and reallocate their time to other critical tasks. For example, if a laboratory’s quality control process requires verification of instrument performance at three different volumes, many of the set-up steps can be pre-stored and used for additional scheduled volume checks. After the user initiates the testing process in a fully integrated system, the MVS will perform all the necessary measurements and the user can return to the finalized data reports on equipment accuracy and precision.

To further reduce the amount of time required for equipment verification, users can store each step of their liquid handler quality control protocols in the MVS system software for continual future access. Once the liquid handler quality control method is programmed, users can begin each subsequent performance verification process without repeating preparatory steps, such as scanning barcodes for each microtiter plate and reagent bottle. By automating the quality control method, the risk of human error is also reduced.

“Any laboratory that must continually repeat liquid handling quality control procedures to meet regulatory requirements or internal SOPs can save labor hours and therefore costs by using the new integration feature of the MVS,” says Keith Albert, Technical Marketing Manager, ARTEL.

The new integration feature is particularly attractive for manufacturers of automated liquid handlers that offer on-site performance verification of customer instruments. These services often use identical quality control protocols to produce information on instrument performance over time.

The MVS is based on ratiometric photometry, which is a technology that uses the absorbance values of two proprietary dye solutions to calculate dispensed volume in each well of a microtiter plate. The MVS is portable and does not require rigorous environmental controls. It can be used to verify, on a tip-by-tip basis, volumes dispensed by automated liquid handlers and multichannel handheld pipettes into 96-well and 384-well microtiter plates.