BACKGROUND Purchase of automated systems in today's clinical laboratory needs justification based on demonstrable improvements in efficiency and a sound payback model. Few studies provide information on laboratory automation that focuses on the preanalytical portion of specimen processing. METHODS We recently evaluated an automated preanalytical processing unit (GENESIS FE500) at two academic...

INTRODUCTION Homogeneity of sample achieved by adequate mixing of the blood sample is the key to the quality of analytical results. Immediate mixing of the sample upon blood collection insures that the anticoagulant in the specimen container has fully dissolved with the blood, thus maintaining not only the effective anticoagulant-to-blood ratio but also providing a specimen free from any blood ...

The concentration of several biochemical and hematological biomarkers is strongly influenced by a number of preanalytical variables. Several lines of evidence attest that short, middle, and long-term exercise, as well as the relative intensity of physical effort (from mild to strenuous), may influence a broad array of laboratory variables. The amount of extracellular release and clearance from ...