2/3 of most diagnostics testing issues in laboratories have root causes before the sample even reaches the laboratory*. At the same time, labs are made responsible to resolve all issues and deliver test results of high quality. A big challenge for laboratories, which are also already struggling with a considerable shortage of skilled workers today.
What laboratories need now are two things above all:
1. More transparency in the journey of laboratory samples in order to identify errors at an early stage
2. A reduction in the workload of employees
In our expert interview, Dr. Oliver Gutmann, Business Product Manager at Roche Diagnostics, gives an insight into Roche Diagnostics’ navify® Sample Tracking solution to face exactly these problems – and tells us, why AI Robotics plays a major role in it.
robominds: "Mr. Gutmann, as Business Product Manager at Roche, you are responsible for navify® Sample Tracking - give us a flavour what does this mean your daily work?"
Dr. Gutmann: "navify® Sample Tracking is a data platform with 3rd party solutions to enable lab customers to get insights into the sample journey before the lab. This means for my daily work, that I work closely with Roche people internally to provide the digital platform. And on top have the pleasure to work closely with innovator companies like robominds, to really bring this innovation to our lab customers. Together with our sales teams we are in continuous dialogue with lab customers to learn and deliver on their unmet needs today."
robominds: "A lot of your daily work revolves around the unmet needs of laboratories - what are currently the biggest challenges labs have to deal with?"
Dr. Gutmann: "Labs are in our days well oiled engines to deliver high quality testing results to patients. Although 2⁄3 of most diagnostic testing issues have root causes before the sample even reaches the lab, they are made responsible to resolve all issues and deliver test results of high quality. This means a lot of manual troubleshooting to resolve with limited to no insights what happened to a sample before the lab."
robominds: "Key word "navify® Sample Tracking": what exactly is it and what does the solution consist of?"
Dr. Gutmann: "navify® Sample Tracking consists of two basic elements:
1. A unified interface to labs: navify (Integrator) connectivity platform to connect to the main lab IT system, typically a laboratory information system (LIS) or a middleware solution managing lab instruments, e.g. navify Lab Ops
2. A unified interface to innovator companies: enabling innovator companies like Robominds to offer their valuable solutions to lab customers. Why? They get all required information from the lab to offer their solutions and provide back valuable information to the lab, so all information is available at fingertips and ready to use. So together we deliver ‘connected’ solutions in the areas of sample collection, transport and lab reception to overcome the manual burden of labs and help to improve overall quality in testing. We provide to lab customers an easier access to innovation from third parties, and we enable in turn third parties to reach customers faster."
robominds: "robominds is the latest addition of innovator companies to the navify® Sample Tracking platform - why did you decide to work with them?"
Dr. Gutmann: "The ‘lab sample reception’ plays a pivotal role and most of the manual workload of a lab is related to this first step inside the lab. Ideally here all issues are resolved automatically before the samples are transported to the respective analyzers for testing: ‘Off-loading of the lab testing infrastructure from samples not suited for further processing’. robominds’ innovative AI based robotics approach is complementing the Roche pre-analytical instruments portfolio in an area with high complexity."
robominds: "What do you think are the main benefits of AI robotics for laboratories?"
Dr. Gutmann: "The biggest challenge in ‘automated lab sample reception’ is the high variability of sample types or containers approaching the lab, requiring a more intelligent approach than typical traditional ‘teach-in’ robotics can achieve. We believe in the AI empowered robominds solution to deal with the complexity at lab reception."
robominds: "How can laboratories specifically benefit from implementing the ASR300?"
Dr. Gutmann: "Lab sample reception is the interface to translate between highly manual work outside of the lab and the automated lab testing inside the lab. Getting the required lab staff can be challenging (night shifts) or highly trained lab staff needs to help in these highly repetitive tasks. ASR300 has AI based ‘sample sorting skills’ and thanks to navify lab IT integration the capability of automated sample reception and helps to reduce manual sorting & troubleshooting effort freeing up capacity of lab staff, e.g. keeping lab services in night shifts ‘alive’."
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robominds: "For whom is the use of the navify® Sample Tracking solution particularly worthwhile?"
Dr. Gutmann: "1. Labs looking for efficiency gains, typically centralized (consolidated) labs, either with a high sample volume or high percentage of ‘remote collection sites’. 2. Labs, e.g. specialized labs, looking for differentiating with high testing quality including end to end traceability of samples and with it test results. 3. Labs looking for enabling automation to keep their service alive, e.g. remote outpost of night shift settings."
robominds: "What do you recommend to laboratories that want to start using navify® Sample Tracking?"
Dr. Gutmann: "1. Think big, start small: Analyze the overall end to end testing process, identify challenges, insights gaps and areas with biggest pains and impact on lab work. Define your ultimate goal, but then select and start small in one area of the overall sample journey 2. Do it step by step: By implementing our platform you enable yourself to change the overall workflow step by step by adding valuable solutions for pain points one after the other. The advantage of a platform is that once it is in place, you can add incremental use cases with less effort than if you were implementing innovations one by one without a common backbone. Do not underestimate the aspect of change management, the step by step approach gives you the proof points to innovate together with all involved stakeholders of the sample testing journey."
robominds: "An outlook into the future: What will the laboratory sector look like in 10 years?"
Dr. Gutmann: "Difficult without the magic crystal ball, but for sure labs in 10 years will be more ‘connected’ than today. With it a plurality of data driven services will be enabled, e.g. imagining that you, as a patient, are able to follow the testing process of ‘your’ sample, just like for logistic services from e.g. DHL or FedEx today."
*Clin Chem. 2007 Jul;53(7):1338-42. Epub 2007 May 24. Errors in a stat laboratory: types and frequencies 10 years later. Carraro P1, Plebani M.
