Automation solutions for biological sample management and biobanking applications

ABF200 and ABF500


Our Automated Blood Fractionation (ABF) system is a self contained instrument utilising the core technology established in our High Throughput Blood Fractionation Systems. In a single unit the ABF satisfies the throughput requirements of the majority of biobanks / biorepositories and, with an expansive platform is capable of accommodating future downstream processing requirements.


Key benefits of the ABF include:
  • Labour saving: Processes up to 500 blood tubes per day requiring only minimal manual handling
  • Reproducibility: Automation offers consistent precision and accuracy which is hard to maintain using manual recovery
  • Tracking: Samples are tracked from source collection vessel ID to destination cryovial ID
  • Audit trail: An audit trail of a samples complete process activity is stored
  • LIMS compatibility: All output files are LIMS compatible
  • Complete automation: Once loaded with samples, fraction recovery is completely automated
  • Biological containment (option): Protects users from biologically hazardous material and protects samples from external contamination
  • Environmental control (option): Temperature control/ refrigeration maintains sample integrity
  • Automated decapping of vacutainers: Reduced health risk
  • Vision System: RTS´ unique vision system (Patent Number WO 2006/037941 A1) allows identification of blood fraction layers, enabling accurate and precise fraction retrieval from any sample.
The Blood Fractionation Process

Whole blood fractionation is a time consuming process when undertaken manually and blood samples are highly variable in nature making automation extremely difficult. A unique vision system lies at the heart of the RTS ABF assessing each individual blood sample and measuring each individual fraction. This information is linked to the input containers’ barcode and stored on a central database. The stored fraction heights are used to calculate the volume of each fraction using the known collection vessel dimensions. This information is used by the liquid handling system to accurately aspirate off each fraction; before dispensing into cryovials in user specified aliquots for storage or downstream processing.

Data / Sample Tracking
 
To ensure data and samples are tracked, all labware is uniquely identified by barcodes to ensure the system knows, and can check, that the correct labware is in place for the specified task. Labware and sample identity is linked according to the specific protocol that is being run, using aliquot numbers and destination to define the relationship between the sample id (Vacutainer® id) and cryovial id (2D barcode). Each operation logs the labware in use and the location that each aliquot is dispensed to. This information is then stored in the ABF™ database. An audit trail of each operation is produced and stored for future reference. Once each process is completed, a LIMS compatible output file is produced in text format.
 
Data tracking has been fundamental to the design of the ABF™. For that reason, whenever the interlocked door is opened or closed, an audit of the source and destination tubes is always triggered and the Laboratory Manager can therefore be confident that the possibility of user error is controlled.

  Click here to download information or, to discuss, contact an RTS Specialist by emailing lifescience.info@rts-group.com or calling +44 (0)161 777 2065.