Abstract
Introduction:
LabAutomation is the world's premier meeting focused on all facets of laboratory automation. LabAutomation is one of the growing list of activities sponsored by the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA), an international non-profit organization, established in April 1995, whose mission is to advance the worldwide utilization of automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence to improve the quality, efficiency, and relevance of laboratory analysis.
The scientific program was opened this year by our Beckman Award Winner, Dr. Leroy Hood of the University of Washington who is one of the most influential and successful researchers today in combining both biology and automation. The following is a review of the key lectures of the conference.
OFFICIAL SPONSORS:
A&T Corporation
Abbott Laboratories
Bayer Corporation
Beckman Instruments
Becton Dickinson Vacutainer Systems
Boehringer Mannheim
Chiron Diagnostics Corporation
Ciba Corning
Coulter Corporation
CRS Robotics
Dade International
DuPont Medical Products
Hitachi Ltd.
Johnson & Johnson
Medical Automation Systems
MDS AutoLab Systems
Olympus Corporation
Packard Instruments
Tecan
Dr. Hood compared the cell with a computer, which transforms the digital information contained in the DNA into a functional protein output that determines the structure of complex biological systems. Chromosomes are most remarkable hardware systems bearing the operating systems and programs for the algorithms of protein synthesis, which are represented by the formation of mRNA. Key features of the DNA code are complementarity and multiplicity of languages.
Among the challenges for automation are:
Large scale DNA sequencing in the context of the human genome project (today 2 × 107 bases per year, in three years to about 3 × 109 bases per year)
Large scale genomic sequencing and automated mapping
High density DNA probe arrays, based on oligonucleotide chip technology
Proteoics analysis, based on automated tandem mass spectrometry of proteins separated on 2D gels.
In the “post-genome era”, beyond accomplishment of the human genome project, the major challenges will be in the analysis of complex cellular systems, the elements and linkages of which correlate structure with function. Model organisms with well defined genomes will afford opportunities for biological information pathways that will tremendously improve mankind's access to the study of diseases like cancer and to the detection of new drugs - a quantum leap like the one from single computers to computer networks and information highways.
Leroy Hoods accepts ALA award at LabAutomation '98
In his lecture, Dr. Fodor presented photolitography as an application of light-directed combinatorial chemical synthesis for automated chip production. The technology called GeneChip™ allows for the production of 400,000 biological chips per year, each the size of a dime, and each containing 400,000 probes. A fluorescence detection system produced by Hewlett Packard allows users to read this large of information from one chip in six minutes. Application of the arrays include the analysis of genetic mutations, the simultaneaous expression profiling of thousands of genes, a new method to quickly discover polymorphisms of the human genome, and a new tool for genomic mapping.
Dr. Houghten stated that combinatorial chemistry is one of many tools for biological assays. Applications for combinatorial libraries to bioassays include antibodies, enzymes and membrane bound receptors (including tissue homoginates and functional cell based assays). Further, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral compounds have been developed as well.
Richard Houghton accepts ALA award at LabAutomation '98 from Dr. David Herold, Chairman of the Scientific Committee
Most laboratories do not have the capability to screen hundreds of thousands of compounds in a timely and cost efficient manner. The use of mixtures is a practical alternative. Collaboratively, the Torrey Pines Institute, Multiple Peptide Systems, and Trega Biosciences develop applications for combinatorial arrays to genetic mutations, simultaneous gene expression profiling, and genomic mapping.
Mr. Burrill offered a review of calendar year 1997. He claimed that the enabling technologies (such as lab-chips) are ushering in a new era of drug discovery. Europe is a hot area for start-ups, technology and capital sources. The large pharmaceutical companies are going through major transitions, some alignment and some, what he calls, “dis-integration”. He pointed out that biotechnology was/is drastically effected by the capital markets and that regardless of the new idea, the number of startups is directly related to the amount of available capital. However, capital is hard to find for biotech companies when internet technologies offer immediate products to market. Wall-Street has a love/hate relationship with biotechnology companies, the industry was up only 1.2% (end of 1997 compared to end of 1996) whereas the Dow was up 22.6% and the S&P was up 31%.
He claims that the classic drug discovery method is on the way out. Protein identification, traditional medicinal chemistry, and assay development (all leading to one assay repeated until successful) are being replaced by high throughput screening assays, genomics, bioinformatics, and combinatorial chemistry. However, there will also be new questions to be answered relating to genetic definitions of disease. As medication becomes more tailored to a specific patient, we will increase medication success rates and decrease adverse effects, but what will happen to market size/share?
In the 1960s, the period from drug discovery to development lasted 8.1 years, but in the 1990s that has ballooned to 14.8 years (just in time before the patent runs out). The new biotechnologies will not only help reduce that time period but also the $500 million/new drug developed. Major pharmaceutical companies will feel further effects because clinical research and development can be done more efficiently and less expensively in academia. Contract manufacturers exist as do sales/distribution networks. The sum effect allows the small operator room for competition.
G. Steven Burrill
He closed by saying that to build a biotech company you must: know your marketplace, know the technology, know the regulatory issues, know the capital requirements, have good management, and implement a strategic plan.
Process Control to Point-of-Care Total lab automation, integrated multianalyzers, modular automation, and point of care testing span the spectrum of choice for clinical lab testing. The greatest growth will be toward the smaller end of this spectrum as we move toward the “distributed” lab with a larger portion of testing performed outside of the traditional lab setting and closer to the patient. A winning concept is that of automated point of care testing which can be shown to be more acceptable, effective and efficient.
Dr. Jones gave a European perspective on the automation of clinical diagnostics, which was quite conservative as compared to the general view of most US speakers of the conference. He said that in Europe the opportunities to make economic savings on the basis of current TLA systems are very limited. This is due to the fact that many European countries, including the UK, already spend a lot less on health care than America and that many laboratories therefore had to develop strategies for higher efficiency without implementing large scale automation. Since the opportunities for labor savings are lower in Europe than in the US, payback periods for automation systems like the one in Leiden, Holland become long (8 to 10 years).
The University of Leeds is one of the more progressive hospitals in the UK and very open to new automation developments. This has been documented by the first European installations of a Hitachi 747 and of an ACS 180. Like most of the 300 laboratories in the UK, it is publicly funded and managed by a qualified Medical Doctor. Faced with an increasing resource gap over the past 10 years, they have focussed on advanced computer technology to automate the processes of test requesting and reporting.
Dr. Markin gave a state of the art overview of process control software for laboratory automation. In his introduction he stated that clinical laboratory automation is a software, not a hardware problem. He admitted that automation devices such as conveyors and robotic interfaces constitute the visible and essential components of any automated laboratory systems, but process control software, in an allegory with arms and fingers of a body, is the brain that gets the components to life.
Among the key requirements of state of the art process control systems are:
Transport system management
Specimen container tracking
Intelligent support of repeat and reflex testing
Instrumentation management
LIS integration
In his opinion, random access in a complex total laboratory automation system requires single tube carriers as opposed to the 5 to 10 hole carriers dominating the world of current analytical systems. The efficient management of these single tubes, including efficient reruns and reflex testing, requires a track system with more than one path and real time hardware control, based on a client server architecture, in which the client is either Windows 95 or NT and the server is either NT or Unix. Using the product of his company LabInterlink as an example, he demonstrated the usefulness of process control software to control both simple and complex operations, to create patient focussed user interfaces and to integrate automated laboratory systems into health delivery systems.
Dr. Souverijn and his colleague Dr. Sturk are among the laboratory automation pioneers, whose laboratories attract a large audience, since in September 1997 they installed the first commercial TLA system in Europe. It is a Boehringer Mannheim/Hitachi CLAS, which is now fully operational and running very smoothly 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in a 870 bed hospital with more than 20,000 inpatients and over 200,000 out-patients per year.
The system has a footprint as large as 17.5 × 5 m and includes a sample input (I/O) unit, centrifuge, de- and recapper, aliquoter, sorter and sample stocker. Linked to it are BM/Hitachi 747 and 911 instruments for clinical chemistry and homogenous immunoassays as well as Elecsys 2010 for heterogenous immunochemistry testing. Major challenges for the laboratory were the installion of this system into an existing routine operation and the cost justification in a cultural environment, where firing of people is not desired. Dr. Souvrijn said that the payback period will be around 10 years. However, the effcts on process reorganization are more important for him than financial aspects. Several technologists were reassigned to research positions to accomodate the automation.
Dr. Simson presented his experience with the installation of one of the largest hospital-based TLA systems in the world. It is a Coulter/IDS track with a complete set of modules for pre-analytical automation as well as five Coulter STKS/GenS for hematology, one Omron slide maker, two MLA 1600 for coagulation, one Atlas analyzer for urine dipstick analysis, as well as two Hitachi 747-200, two Vitros and two Axsym analyzers for clinical chemistry and immunoassays.
The Mount Sinai laboratory is a core lab for a rapidly growing hospital covering six city blocks between 6th Ave and Madison Ave with over 1100 beds, as well as 34 affiliated hospitals plus nursing homes and large group practices. The total laboratory employs 345 FTE's with 195 in those areas which are affected by the TLA system. Planning of the TLA system required extensive planning. Dr. Simson showed a number of impressive flow charts demonstrating the magnitude of the challenge of installing such a huge system.
The third in a row presentation of a new TLA installation was that of a MDS Autolab system at a large reference laboratoryin Salt Lake City. The system, which is still in the planning period will largely differ from the two preceeding ones, because it is focussing on sample sorting and transportation only. This is quite typical for those reference labs where samples come in precentrifuged and a large proportion is for special and esoteric testing. ARUP laboratories is a reference lab for hospitals and other reference labs spread over six time zones. They perform over 1,600 different esoteric tests in more than 8,000 specimens daily. Normal routine hematology and clinical chemistry is done in the laboratories of their clients. So, the major challenge is transportation to the laboratory over long distances, extensive sorting, intelligent decision making and distributing the samples to the various analyzers. Aliquotting is of minor importance.
One of the first issues to be resolved while preparing themselves for automation, was to standardizing transport conditions to the laboratory. A careful analysis of stability requirements revealed that 90% of all samples could be transported under ambient temperature conditions, which reduced costs and facilitated sample entry into the system considerably; the remaining 10% were grouped into 5 stability categories with increasing efforts made for freezing and temperature control.
The second issue was the in-house development of a front end software called ESP (expert specimen processing) that supports intelligent order entry and sort process control based on rules.
Other issues before installing the automation system were standardization of the transfer tubes (which have been decided to be Sarstedt tubes) for automatic sample handling, and some facility changes to accomodate the laboratory for the Autolab conveyor belt. The sorters will be from MDS Automed. None of the analyzers will be hooked on-line to the converyor belt. The projected payback period of the system is 6 years, assuming a 20% growth rate with a subproportional increase in FTEs.
Paul Orsulak, Southwestern Medical School and VA, Dallas, TX, USA
Dr. Orsulak summarized the evolution of laboratory evolution, first consisting of automating instruments, leading to modules or “islands of automation”, finally reaching TLA. He stated that the laboratory automation continuum has been remiss to include urine toxicology, forsaking it for the needs of the routine clinical laboratory. A focus group consisting of lab managers (Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System) and vendors (CRS Robotics Corporation, Starplex Scientific, Forensic Technologies Inc. and Moore Document Solutions) attacked this void.
A toxicology processing system was designed and built along with a novel split sample container system. A key note was that the group was able to integrate automation along with all the expendable products. Marketing and support for all products was accomplished. The first production unit is scheduled for delivery within 12 months.
Bernard Gouget, Centre National Des Etudes, Paris, France
Dr. Gouget reported results on the Dimension AE RxL analyzer. It is the first analyzer to integrate successfully photometric technology for general chemistry tests, sensor technology for electrolytes, and heterogeneous immunoassay technology for hormones, cardiac markers and tumor markers.
The need to combine general chemistry and immunochemistry arose from lab space consolidation. Previously, the average wordstation occupied ∼20m2 and the challenge was to combine both general chemistry and immunochemistry into a 15m2 work station. The Dimension AE RxL facilitated the solution. Over a 3 hour morning workload, the Dimension AE RxL processed 1323 specimens on average, this equivilates to 500,000/year. Dr. Gouget informed us that approximately 60% of those specimens were photometric tests, 36% electrolytes and the remaining 4% immunassays. 10% of all tests were stat, a few examples include: chem7 profiles in 4 minutes, troponin I in 19 minutes, electrolytes in 1 minute, digoxin in 13 minutes, and mCKMB in 19 minutes. The reproducibility of both general chemistry and immunochemistry tests was not compromised by the integration of both technologies in one instrument.
He concluded by saying that the splitting of a sample between 4 different workstations was consolidated: general chemistry, TDM, batch immunoassay, random access immunoassay. A typical day's workload (for the 500 bed hospital) included 580 specimens of which 137 would be split amongst the 4 workstations in the old system, but with the Dimension AE RxL, only 37 were split. Reduced labor, materials, redraws and workstation cost resulted in a $33,400 savings.
Anne Kopf-Sill, Caliper Technologies Corporation, Palo Alto, CA USA
Dr. Kopf-Sill presented Caliper's lab-on-a-chip technology. At Caliper, their glass or plastic chips (∼1 in2) have micro-channels etched in by photolithography. Applied voltages move fluid in the channels by both electrophoresis and a new technique called electoosmosis (collectively referred to electrokinetic movement of fluids). A key point is the fluid profiles in these channels are flat, a stark contrast to parabolic fluid profiles common in pressure driven laminar flows, evidence supporting that even molecules close to the channel walls are moved.
Dr. Kopf-Sill then showed a video of various demonstrations of Caliper's chips, including: serial dilutions, DNA separations (down to a single nucleotide), and multchannel parallel reactions. Variable volumes are possible down to the single picoliter range. Caliper also has a “world-to-chip” interface which allows for aspiration from exterior devices such as microplates. Applications include enzyme and enzyme inhibitor assays, and drug screening.
Dr. Kopf-Sill envisions laboratories accomplishing tasks such as DNA sequencing, enzyme kinetics, and flow cytometry via chips loaded into a computer connected instrument. This instrument would have the necessary electrodes, light source and detection means to conduct the experiment(s). A user interface would enhance software driven experimental protocols. The instrument would also facilitate data acquisition and data analysis. She believes that all the various biotech companies' chip technologies will revolutionize the laboratory the same way the semiconductor chip revolutionized the computer industry.
Gary Howell, Dade Behring Newark, NJ, USA
Dade presented the AutoSpin™ centrifugation technology, which includes random loading of any standard size tube, self-balancing, swinging bucket and fixed angle centrifugation. The AutoSpin™ centrifuge addresses automation goals without spatial bulk greater than any conventional centrifuge at affordable price. In Dr. Howell's opinion, this technology is a viable alternative to current robotic approaches, which are costly, technically risky and space consuming.
Edward Bush, Wellmont-BRMC Laboratory, Bristol, TN, USA
Mr. Bush shared his experiences with running a lab while preparing for managed care. A DRG plan resulted in hospital wide staff reductions. A new hospital was built in the early 1990s, focused on outpatient care. The lab was redesigned with a 20 year plan in mind that would improve operations, efficiency and accommodate automation. Centralized laboratory services and cross-training personnel (specifically combining chemistry and hematology skills) are 2 methods he employed to cope with downsizing.
No automation was available to Mr. Bush in the early 1990s, but technology incorporation was inevitable. Extra electrical and mechanical hardware were installed and the focus was process control. The goal was to make future expansions simple and inexpensive.
In 1994, a $900,000 reduction in costs was attributed to a decrease in full time employees (84 to 59) at the staff level and also a decrease of 12 to 6 at the management level. Workflow and specimen flow redesigned accompanied the staff changes.
Reflex testing software, autovalidation software, along with some modular automation are some of the technologies which when combined with personnel cross-training and FTE reduction allow Mr. Bush to meet the challenges of managed care and changes in laboratory process control.
Jason M. Alter, Pall Corporation Port Washington, NY, USA
Mr. Alter shared the Pall Corporation's views on how separation membranes are applicable to the front end of laboratory automation. He explained that a solid support material such as nitrocellulous is chemically altered, resulting in ion exchange, hydrophobic/hydrophillic, low protein absorbtion, or chemically reactive functionalities. He listed applications for membranes in laboratories that included blood separation, DNA/RNA detection, covalent immobilization, absorbants, lateral flow, ion exchange, contamination protection and prefiltration.
Pall Corporation's membrane technology eliminates the need for centrifugation, a key feature. Blood separates via chromatography. In general a droplet of blood from fingerstick (40–70ul) results in 2–12ul of plasma. Glucose, cholesterol, HCG, and high molecular weight proteins have been successfully tested. Most interesting was his report of virus detection. PCR was not inhibited by the membrane and no additional extraction steps after separation are necessary. It was clear from his presentation that the technology is both automation and point-of-care friendly. The technology was also highlighted in a report on lateral flow immunoassay (pregnancy test) that placed second in the poster contest.
Dr. Stanley Bauer, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Total Laboratory Automation System installation for Beth Israel Hospital was completed in March, 1997. The key parts are a Coulter IDS pre-analytical specimen processor, Cerner laboratory information system, and online STKS.
Dr Bauer claims that his TLA has dealt successfully with certain expectations including increased productivity and throughput, decreased result turnaround times, decreased personnel cost, and decreased cost/billable test. The TLA allows Beth Israel to service 5 hospitals (approximately 2300 beds) and about a dozen outpatient clinics spread throughout eastern NJ, Westchester county NY, Staten Island NY, Long Island NY and Manhatten NY.
They presently attack the task of autoverification. He stated that a TLA must be able to autoverify hematology, chemistry, immunology, coagulation and urinalysis results. Bidirectional interfaces between the LIS and analyzer(s) allow for test result comparisons to present limits, delta checks, recent QC values, and analyzer error messages. Acceptance/rejection of test results can occur within either the LIS or the controlling computer of the Coulter IDS. Verification results in reported results, otherwise repeat or reflex testing or specimen reroute occurs. Dr. Bauer claims that virtually all non-hematology TLA results along with 90% of hematology results are autoverified at present.
Dixie McFadden, Kaiser Permanente Clackamas, OR, USA
Another report on a recent automation system installation in a reference laboratory introduced the RUSH™ system from Labotix in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. This system was chosen in 1996 and installed in late summer 1997. The system configuration includes sorting, uncapping, rack loading, transportation, recapping and storage. The main criteria for vendor selection were:
Low cost of the systemreliable laboratory automation system software
Availability of front end components
Match of laboratory and company culture.
In Dr. McFadden's view, the last item is a key issue, because large automation systems transform vendor relationships into partner relationships that last for years and often have to go a rocky path together. A major objective of her presentation was to share the Kaiser Northwest experience with other laboratorians. Key learnings were, that a dedicated project manager must be assigned and the staff level should be involved as intensively as possible, attention be payed to the LIS/LAS interface and that pre-analytical operations and sample containers be standardized prior to automation.
Frank Naccarato, Dynacon Systems Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
Dr. Naccarato presented a robotic specimen handling system for culture preparation in microbology, called Inoculator. Current manual processes are tedious and prone to infectious risk, so that automation seemed promising to the Dynacon Systems people. The robotic device opens the specimen containers, inoculates the media plates, streaks, labels and stacks the inoculated patels, to get them prepared for incubation without prior manual intervention. The system processes up to 120 specimens per hour, which is about three times faster than a human operator can do it and has a nominal walk-away time of one hour. Dr. Naccarato showed a video demonstrating the robotic actions.
Kuruvilla George, Carraway Methodist Medical Center, Birmingham AL
The aim was to reduce the turn around time, close satellite labs, reduce the number of FTEs and reduce costs. The justification was a 5 year operating cost reduction with lab automation. In phase 1 the front-end and chemistry and hematology analyzers, specimen manager and specimen storage were included. In phase 2 the immunochemistry and urinalysis was integrated. An analysis of the decision whether to lease or buy showed that it was cheaper to buy because of a modest financing and tax saving. Major savings came from the closure of satellite labs (e.g. emergency).
Georg Hoffmann, Trillium GmbH, Grafrath, Germany
Trillium is an international, Germany-based software and consulting company that has specialized in laboratory workflow analysis and computer simulation. As laboratory automation systems are becoming increasingly complex, laboratorians and manufacturers are faced with the challenge of an often unpredictable impact of such systems on laboratory workflow, operator and instrument utilization, economics etc. Dr. Hoffmann presented software, called Simlab, which allows to create and test a “virtual laboratory” model and to assess and optimize reorganization and automation scenarios prior to installation.
The program creates detailed experimental data describing the performance of the future laboratory, including hourly utilization rates of equipment and staff, queue lengths in front of each instrument, and turnaround times overall and per work area. The data can be presented immediately after each simulation run either in the format of tables or in illustrative graphical formats and it can also be exported to MS Excel, Word etc. for further analysis and report writing. Dr. Hoffmann presented examples of successful studies both for laboratories and for industry. The purpose of these studies is to:
Help laboratorians making the right decisions, before they begin to automate, selecting the most appropriate products and avoiding catastrophic investment in automation and reorganization
Enable industry managers to develop optimal design goals for new automation equipment
Find the best placement strategies for specific market segments
Trevor Steele, Technidata SA. Meylan, France
Technidata is an off-spring of the former Technicon company, now an independent developer of LIS products and interfaces with analyzers and automation systems. The purpose of Dr. Steele's lecture was to give the audience an insight into the needs of future software for laboratory automation control, consolidation of workstations, intelligent sample and result management and networking of laboratories with health delivery systems. He presented an attractive open work cell manager concept, which is now under development at Technidata.
Carrie Ebenhardt, MDS Autolab Etobicoke, ON, Canada
MDS is not only Canada's largest reference laboratory, but also a manufacturer of laboratory automation systems and process control software. Dr. Ebenhardt gave an overview of the problems encountered at MDS while trying to network clinical laboratory data generated in various locations all over Canada. She described the software needs to assure consistency of analytical protocols and results across all areas, as well as access to reports, management data, clinical outcome data etc. from all departments within the organization. In her view, future success of reference laboratories will depend on effective networking automation sites over wide areas.
Charles Sun, Sun Consulting Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Sun is an engineer who works for a NASA project on automatic payload control and monitoring under space conditions. The aim of his specific contribution to the project was to make the experimental data obtained by a robotic analytical unit available to universities via the Internet. Data formats to be communicated were Excel spread sheets, snapshots and video sequences of plants and animals under experimental conditions, data on analytical rack configuration management, rule-based detection of automation problems and data storage and retrieval management.
Among various commercial computer tools, which Sun tested in a feasibility phase, RT Works from RT Works Corp., proved to be the most suitable one. However, there were problems with video integration and protability, which finally forced the group to rewrite the software in JAVA.
Writing the prototype, which is now in a testing phase, took just one month. The system is fully platform independent except the JAVA Media Framework for video support, which runs only on Intel processors.
Robert Trinka, Cyberlab Inc. Norwalk, CT, USA
Trinka presented a workstation with a footprint of 1 × 0.5 m, based on a Beckman cartesian robotic, to process microplates without operator attention for a couple of hours. The workcell can unstack plates, perform preprogrammed pipetting steps and restack the plates. As compared to a human operator the robotic workstations can increase the throughput three-fold. Trinka prefers cartesian robots because they are easier to operate and to debug than joint robots.
James Harness, Bohdan Automation Inc. Mundelein, IL, USA
Harness presented an automated workstation for organic synthesis and HPLC analysis for new compound discovery and high throughput screening. It consists of an organic synthesizer working in conjunction with a liquid handling robot and a HPLC analyzer. 12 solution-phase reactions can be performed simultaneaously at temperatures ranging from −20°C to +140°C. The entire workstation is controlled by a single computer system, which compiles the data into a single report at the end of each run. Harness went into some more theoretical considerations about the new paradigm of Process Research and Development, which forms the link between chemical research and industrial manufacturing. Process R&D optimizes reaction mechanisms and processes in terms of economics, safety, speed, etc. in a way that they can be efficiently included in manufacturing operations while maintaining the original goals of the researching scientists.
David Daly, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, USA
Abbott recommends a stepwise approach to laboratory automation rather than the all at one time approach, which has been introduced mainly by TLA systems of Japanese origin. According to recent market studies, the largest proportion of laboratories in the Western hemisphere will follow this strategy, which includes
Careful evaluation of the laboratories processes and the potential for improvements (workflow analysis, computer simulation, reengineering)
Data management enhancements and introduction of carefully selected laboratory automation devices
The focus of the latter should be on frontend automation and analytical workcells.
Following the huge level of demand for a European version of the San Diego LabAutomation conference, the ALA is pleased to announce the first such conference to be held on September 26–30. The venue for the EuroLabAutomation Conference will be the historic and picturesque Keble College, located at the heart of Oxford University.
Accommodation for delegates and a limited number of company representatives will be available on the grounds of the college itself, giving a special opportunity to experience the unique ambience of Oxford University. In addition to being an attractive location, Oxford is very conveniently situated, with good access by road, rail and air. Our goal is to bring together the best science and the best technology in the field of laboratory automation in an atmosphere conducive to creative interaction. EuroLabAutomation will certainly be the premier European meeting in its field for 1998.
Our distinguished international Scientific Committee is currently at work putting together a state-of-the-art lecture series. Issues of interest to clinical, pharmaceutical as well as analytical laboratories will be covered.
A partial listing of topics includes:
Automating the Clinical Laboratory
Combinatorial Chemistry
High Throughput Screening
Automation for Drug Discovery
Total Laboratory Automation Systems
Modular Automation Devices
Point-of-Care Integrated Devices
Laboratory Robotics
Bioinformatics
Laboratory Standards
Details can be found on our web page http://eurolabautomation.org, or by contacting one of our coordinating offices:
Conference Coordinator
Association for Laboratory Automation
4 River Court
Trinity Street
Oxford OX1 1TQ, UK
Tel/Fax: +44 1865 723 885
email:
Mr. Conal F. Timoney
Association for Laboratory Automation
P. O. Box 572
Charlottesville, VA 22908, US
Tel: (804) 982-3351 • Fax: (804) 924-5718
email: