On Wednesday, December 3, the Laboratory at Rapid City Hospital held a ribbon cutting ceremony, which officially marked the beginning of the new automation line’s operations and the end of the construction project that began in August. The soft go-live date was November 17 and the new lab became fully operational on December 2.
The most noteworthy change is the new automation line. Called the DxA 5000 Total Lab Automation System, designed and sold by Beckman Coulter, the line lends a renewed sense of harmonious, technological productivity within the lab.
According to the Beckman Coulter website, the DxA 5000 offers advanced pre-analytical quality checks and reduced manual intervention. The unit performs 9 quality checks in 3 seconds (tube type, cap type, fill level, sample volume, hemolysis, etc.) and prevents errors before analysis, reducing costly reruns and improving patient safety. Additionally, DxA 5000 automates more steps (tube checks, routing, centrifugation) and reduces manual handling by up to 80%, which helps improve staff efficiency while lowering the risk of human error.
Gone is the frenetic noise of the air-compressor-powered machinery, replaced by an almost imperceptible computerized whir and clack. The Lego-like automation line is a bit reminiscent of a futuristic Rube Goldberg machine as vials make their way along the track and are shuffled this way and that before being gently plucked and dropped into a tray by a box-like apparatus for analysis at one or the other of the stops along the way. One can watch through the opaque plastic cover, terrarium style, at one of the stations, as the sliding and shifting apparatus functions like a sophisticated arcade claw machine to place and replace samples and perform tests for common blood indicators, such as chemistry, hematology, immunoassay and other specialty testing.
“This new automation line represents years of vision, planning and tremendous team work from laboratory Caregivers, our IT partners, facilities, construction crews, project management teams and support services,” said Emily Leech, Associate Vice President Lab and Imaging. “This line is more than equipment — it’s a commitment to efficiency, accuracy and the highest level of care for our patients. I am incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished together.”
Story by Kory Lanphear
Photos by Erika Cianca