Tecan Automation Streamlines Veterinary Diagnostic Processes

The Landeslabor Berlin-Brandenburg (LLBB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is dedicated to the protection of human and animal safety, health and welfare, and has chosen Tecan´s liquid handling workstations to help monitor diseases in cattle, including an extensive testing program for the eradication of Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1).

'By using Tecan´s process automation solutions for fully automated sample processing and high throughput ELISA, our laboratory is able to process close to 7,000 samples per day for BHV-1 testing at peak times. This has greatly enhanced the efficacy and reliability of the LLBB´s diagnostic service,' explained Sabine Thalheim at LLBB´s Department of Infectious Disease Testing.

Once samples arrive in the laboratory, they are archived and organized into sample worklists by Tecan Genesis RSP™ platforms. This is aided by direct communication between the laboratory´s LIMS database and the customer-specific DisCo Tool 2 software, using a PosID™ module and barcode scanners for sample identification.

Samples are then transferred to a Freedom EVO® 200 workstation for ELISA tests, including the IDEXX HerdChek®* IBR gE Antibody kit for BHV-1 testing. The platform has been specifically configured to meet the laboratory´s high throughput needs, processing up to 70 ELISA plates per day.

Five hotels provide loading capacity for 45 plates in one run, and integration of a Sunrise™ microplate absorbance reader and a Power Washer 384™ allow fully automated ELISA processing, increasing the laboratory´s throughput capabilities.