Advancing infectious disease diagnostics with smart pipetting solutions

Cormeum Lab Services, a pioneering clinical testing laboratory based in Louisiana, has revolutionised its infectious disease testing procedures with the aid of an array of pipetting solutions from Integra Biosciences. As the demand for their services surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, the laboratory acquired additional liquid handling instruments to cope with the increased workload, facilitating the expansion of its testing capabilities.

In response to the heightened demand for accurate diagnostics during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cormeum Lab Services was established. To enhance their efficiency, the facility adopted various Integra solutions, including VIAFLO electronic pipettes for ergonomic and efficient pipetting, VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipettes for parallel transfer of multiple samples across labware of different formats, and an ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot to automate workflows and process samples more quickly, reducing turnaround times from 10 hours to just 5 hours per test.

Leilani Graffagnini, Quality Manager in Laboratory Operations at Cormeum Lab Services, explained: "We introduced electronic and automated liquid handling solutions from Integra to handle a larger volume of COVID-19 samples daily. The pipettes have significantly improved our workflows; instead of pipetting samples individually, we can now transfer them row by row, and many of our protocols can even be performed hands-free thanks to the ASSIST PLUS. This has increased our efficiency while minimising the risk of human error, enabling our lab staff to focus on other tasks and their ongoing professional development.

"We can now provide industry-leading throughput and are confident in the quality and reliability of our results because Integra regularly calibrates the pipettes, giving us complete peace of mind that everything is functioning as it should. Additionally, the new pipettes have greatly aided us in staying at the forefront of diagnostics, as our enhanced capacity has enabled us to expand our range of diagnostic services, including urine, wound, nail, women's health, and STI testing, as well as antibiotic resistance testing. Integra's innovative solutions have allowed us to align with our clients' needs and adapt to an ever-evolving healthcare landscape."

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