Siemens Launches Next Generation Automation Solution ‘Aptio’ at AACC 2012

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics launched Aptio™ Automation, the company’s next generation laboratory automation platform, at the 2012 AACC and ASCLS Annual Meetings and Clinical Lab Expo in Los Angeles last week. Aptio Automation promises to transform laboratory operations by combining Siemens’ industry-leading workflow expertise with peak performance, adaptability and intelligent technology.

Increasingly, clinical laboratories are turning to automation to help them meet the growing demand for in vitro diagnostic testing in the face of a shrinking labor force. And, these trends are only expected to continue, as approximately 17 percent of laboratory professionals are anticipated to retire in the next five years. By 2014, it’s estimated that the United States alone will need 81,000 additional medical technologists and technicians to replace retiring staff, plus 68,000 more to fill newly created positions. Aptio Automation is an adaptable solution that allows for a phased implementation to accommodate both current and future needs of medium- to very high-volume laboratories.

William Bartlett, Ph.D., Joint Clinical Director of Diagnostics at the UK’s NHS Tayside, one of the first laboratories to deploy Aptio Automation, said: “We chose Aptio Automation because it can handle increasing workloads while enabling us to use our staff better. We expect that the implementation of this new platform will allow us to provide a state-of-the-art service that aligns the lab function with Tayside’s overall goals for organizational sustainability and improved patient outcomes.”

With every laboratory configured differently and floor space at a premium, Aptio Automation’s circular track and modular design ensure it can adapt to nearly any lab or testing environment. It also offers connectivity to Siemens’ portfolio of automation-ready analyzers, thus facilitating a multidisciplinary approach to testing. Further, Aptio Automation’s point-in-space aspiration feature helps streamline workflow by reducing the need to aliquot (or divide) samples, and its puck-based system with RFID enables individual sample routing and tracking, along with STAT prioritization.

Additionally, Aptio Automation delivers comprehensive analytics via powerful, centralized information technology, while having the flexibility to provide pre- and post-analytical capabilities. Siemens’ CentraLink™ Data Management System facilitates efficient sample flow, auto-verification, quick access to samples and proactive quality control (QC). Plus, the CentraLink System can be customized per end user, speeding up system access and supporting error reduction.

“Siemens is acutely aware of how our customers’ needs have evolved in the face of continuously increasing cost pressures and growing test demand,” said Dave Hickey, CEO, Chemistry, Immunoassay, Automation and Diagnostics IT Business Unit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “Aptio Automation represents our latest innovation and vision for how we can help laboratories keep pace in this challenging environment and address their most pressing business and clinical demands.”

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