As clinical laboratories everywhere face increasing pressure to generate more results faster and without compromising on quality, many seek to automate key processes in order to reduce hands-on time for manual processes. In Japan and elsewhere, a growing number of labs are embracing automated calibration as one method for streamlining operations.

Automated calibration replaces the manual calibration process, minimising user intervention and allowing team members to start running patient samples earlier. Staff members perform a manual calibration during the first setup of the test, after which subsequent calibrations can be calculated with the automated function.

Lab Insights reported on this trend last year, highlighting a study from TriCore Research Institute in the United States showing that test results using automated calibration were highly concordant with test results using manual calibration. Scientists were able to reduce calibration time and overall time to results, all while producing high-confidence data.

In Asia Pacific, more and more clinical laboratories are implementing systems with the automated calibration feature. In Japan alone, nearly 150 labs have platforms that enable this feature. Lab Insights checked in with laboratory leaders at Asahikawa City Hospital and Kin-ikyo Chuo Hospital to learn more about how automated calibration makes a difference in generating and delivering patient results.

Asahikawa City Hospital, based on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan, is a 372-bed facility with a clinical laboratory that offers a menu of 37 clinical chemistry tests. Of those, 17 tests are currently run on systems enabled with an automated calibration function. According to Hiroya Kimoto, Core Lab Team Leader, the lab team uses this function to perform an average of 15 calibrations annually – during lot changes, troubleshooting, or for other purposes.

Mr Kimoto says automated calibration is “convenient” for his laboratory, and that after using it for six months, he has no concerns about quality control fluctuation. “I can’t imagine running these tests without the automated calibration function,” he adds. In his laboratory, automated calibration saves more than 127 hours and more than 1020 tests saved per year.

In the city of Sapporo, Kin-ikyo Chuo Hospital is a 450-bed healthcare facility. Its clinical laboratory operates 24 hours a day with a clinical chemistry menu spanning 41 tests, 18 of which are performed on instruments that have an automated setting for calibration. Like the lab at Asahikawa City Hospital, laboratory personnel at Kin-ikyo Chuo Hospital run calibration during lot changes or on an as-needed basis.

Yoshiyuki Sakiyama, Core Lab Team Leader at Kin-ikyo Chuo Hospital, has been running systems with automated calibration for a full year, giving him a clear perspective on how the function works. In this laboratory, automated calibration helps team members save about 135 hours of hands-on time per year, especially as there is “no need to waste time on manual calibration.” In terms of reagent savings, this contributes to a significant 1080 tests that can now be performed on patient testing instead of calibration.

The function is especially important for a lab running tests around the clock. Automated calibration reduces the opportunity for human error, Mr Sakiyama says, and also eases the pressure on team members with less experience who have to deal with changes in reagent lots. “This function is expected to reduce the sense of anxiety for inexperienced persons working with these systems and to reduce the pressure to respond to the results,” he adds.

With every new concept, awareness does not automatically lead to adoption. Understandably, laboratories had reservations about automated calibration and its performance. However, after its implementation, the laboratories experience and understand the significant benefits and cost savings it offers by replacing the manual calibration process. Automated calibration eliminates the need for manual intervention, enables team members to initiate sample analysis more rapidly, and as a result, improves the laboratories’ turnaround times.

To learn more about how automated calibration works, check out Solving the calibration headache–by simply automating it!  by Jeremy Huang, Product Manager (Core Lab) at Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific.