An overhead specimen handling system for variable workloads.

This unique overhead specimen handling system requires virtually no floor space and only a minimal amount of bench space. It uses state-of-the-art conveyors suspended near the ceiling to transport, log-in and sort blood specimens in standard specimen containers. Specimens placed into the system at bench-level bins are automatically singulated and loaded onto cleated conveyors and lifted to the main conveyor belt near the ceiling.

Migrating a clinical laboratory information system between technologies.

The technical revolution that has strongly driven events in the clinical laboratory for the last thirty years is now threatening to make obsolete what has become the central pillar of operation in many laboratories, the minicomputer-based laboratory information system. Some of its functions could easily be absorbed by the personal computers which are proliferating in the laboratory, but any single step leap between systems risks replacing order with chaos. Appropriate use of networking tools, together with essential software development, can provide a systematic migrational path for both the administrative and technical computer support from one environment to another without the trauma of a massive replacement step.

Effects of system tuning and RAM disk on the performance of a clinical laboratory information system.

Improvements in the performance of a laboratory computer system do not necessarily require the replacement of major portions of the system and may not require the acquisition of any hardware at all. Major bottlenecks may exist in the ways that the operating system manages its resources and the algorithm used for timesharing decisions. Moreover, significant throughput improvements may be attainable by switching to a faster storage device if substantial disk activity is performed.

The development of a third generation system for entering microbiology data into a clinical laboratory information system.

Increased demands on technologists' time and the desire to have electronic storage of patient information have led to numerous computer-based efforts to manage microbiology data. Our approach to the design of a new microbiology subsystem has been to maximize the functionality without requiring unusual input devices. DEC VT100-compatible terminals are used for data entry and display.

Coordinated computer reporting of clinical microbiology data.

The importance of the incorporation of microbiology information into the laboratory cumulative report implies that continuing efforts need to be made to enhance the readability and style of such reports. In addition, the optimizing of laboratory work flow around a computer record-keeping system in microbiology is essential to guarantee technologist satisfaction with and usage of the system. The efforts and results of extending a commercially available system in the microbiology laboratory are discussed and compared with another approach using the same system base.