A recent publication in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology compared the results of reading 2,163 urine cultures plates by a panel of microbiologists against those obtained by the APAS (Automated Plate Assessment System) an automated plate reading system from LBT Innovations Ltd.
The authors found that the 'APAS demonstrated high performance in the detection, enumeration, and colony classification of isolates compared with that for conventional plate-reading methods. The device found all cases reported by the laboratory and detected the most commonly encountered organisms found in urinary tract infections.'
To read the full paper: http://jcm.asm.org/content/54/2/300.full.pdf+html
Watch the video showing the APAS in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1psqNLMsA8
