New year, same challenges: There is a shortage of laboratory specialists, which has been brought into the spotlight by the pandemic. For many of them, urgent emails and the need to prioritise analyses have become the norm. This is especially problematic in the time-critical field of diagnostics, where patients are waiting for appropriate treatment. Using digitalisation and automation to make workflows more efficient is thus not only a means to keep up with the times but also to take pressure off staff and to help patients as fast as possible.
We at EUROIMMUN are therefore especially pleased to have supplied more than one thousand EUROBlotOne systems to our customers over the last ten years. This fully automated system has been part of the EUROIMMUN portfolio since 2013 and is popular around the world because it has comprehensive functions, can be used with a great number of tests and builds on a first-class, proven technique. The instrument can process 44 immunoblots in one run – from sample registration and image acquisition to result proposals. And the EUROBlotOne offers a great advantage as regards the diagnostic range and the creation of economic workflows: autoimmune and infection diagnostic tests as well as tests from the ever-growing area of allergy and food sensitivity diagnostics can be processed in parallel. It allows to perform EUROLINE multiparameter tests with up to 54 antigens per blot strip and to simultaneously carry out differentiated (follow-up) analyses using EUROLINE-WB or Westernblot. The antigens used in the tests are developed and produced in the EUROIMMUN laboratories to ensure the best test quality and proven standards at all times.
Watch the following video to see the benefits EUROBlotOne can bring to your lab:
Automated workflow with maximum walk-away time
Manual processing of blot strips is time-intensive: After the preparation of various sample dilutions the blot strips must be carefully incubated, washed and dried. Using the EUROBlotOne the patient samples (serum, plasma or CSF) are loaded directly into the instrument and registered automatically using the barcode scanner, ensuring complete traceability at all times. This process makes the maintenance of corresponding lists obsolete, which reduces error proneness and thus makes results more reliable and test repetitions less frequent. Sample dilution and immunoblot incubation and washing are also performed directly by the instrument. Subsequently, the instrument’s drying unit ensures ideal and standardised conditions during image acquisition with the integrated camera. The absence of manual intermediate steps leaves the user more time for other pending tasks and thus creates capacities.
There is also digital support for final evaluation. The (image) data recorded by the EUROBlotOne are transmitted directly to the EUROLineScan software, which evaluates them based on intensity measurements of the bands and provides a detailed result overview. Bundled patient test results – including the corresponding blot images – are archived securely and can be accessed quickly and easily throughout the entire laboratory network.
To save even more time, a large part of the EUROIMMUN blot systems is also available in the Immunoblot PreQ format. In this format the trays are pre-equipped with blot strips and can be flexibly combined by means of a simple click system, allowing easy and quick adaptation to specific diagnostic demands.
Get an insight into the automated workflow with the EUROBlotOne in the following video: