AutomationSpecimen planting and streaking is an important job in microbiology that needs to be done quickly, efficiently and to a high standard. Reliable and accurate diagnosis depends on the quality of the sample and proficiency of specimen set up. Despite its importance, the task of planting and streaking is a laborious repetitive activity that takes skilled personnel away from important interpretative work, esoteric testing and new assay technologies that require their expertise. Laboratory managers around the world face a rapidly aging population of laboratory staff and a higher incidence of unfilled vacancies for skilled workers. Maintenance of precious skilled staff and competency is a serious and increasing challenge, which is compounded by rising workloads due to the increasing prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) like MRSA, and emerging drug resistance bacteria. The microbiology laboratory is also changing as it adopts a more diverse range of technologies, such as immunoassays and molecular diagnostics, to increase its ability to identify infectious agents in samples with great precision and provide faster results to physicians. Routine tasks like planting and streaking occupy much of a technologist’s time. Opening, sampling and closing specimens numerous times each day pose a serious concern about repetitive stress and fatigue. WASP® provides a much needed solution that allows the re-deployment of precious staff resources without compromising the quality of diagnostic testing. WASP® is designed to mimic the best technologist and to bring a high standard of consistent, reliable and accurate specimen planting and streaking.
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