Our Laboratory

Labtests Laboratory Facts

• Houses the world’s second largest Siemens ADVIA LabCell to process samples.
• Laboratory fully protected against power supply failures with Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and own generator system.
• Features the most advanced PVT robotics available and state-of-the-art Sysmex hematology sample tracking (HST) line.
• “Enterprise class” computing environment. Large scale IBM server farm with 7.008-terabyte storage capacity – expandable to 30 terabytes. “Enterprise Class” means the very highest level and scale of computing systems i.e. large hospitals, major trading banks.
• 100% redundant capacity built into IT system to protect against system or equipment failures.
• Includes 3 Molecular Pathology Laboratories to allow for future DNA test innovations.
• Labtests will be the first in New Zealand to introduce electronic tests requesting for doctors that will allow better follow up of patients who fail to get their tests done.
• Labtests’ service is supported by Labtests own dedicated courier service using an advanced dispatch system designed to speed up dispatch workflows and allow electronic download of pick-ups in real time.
• Each medical courier will be equipped with a portable data unit with GPS to ensure a quality service and effective courier management.
• Employs 400 staff in the Laboratory including a full call-centre operation.

Operational Overview

Using state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation, Labtests, Auckland’s community pathology provider, will help to prevent disease by detecting unknown health problems and aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of existing conditions through accurate and timely test results.

Healthscope, Labtests’ parent company and the third largest pathology provider in Australasia, recognises that to be at the forefront of laboratory testing means investing in the very best equipment and IT systems. This means that Labtests purpose built core lab in Mt Wellington is the most automated in Australasia and houses the second largest Siemens LabCell in the world.

Labtests’ LabCell is the first of its type in New Zealand and will manage more than half of all the samples received in the lab for testing each day. From the moment the test tube is placed on the track, the Siemens LabCell is able to manage the sample, recognising precisely where it needs to go and then routing it for optimal efficiency. This reduces the number of steps required to sort, process and archive samples, and the time to produce a complete set of results for doctors.
 

In addition to the LabCell, Labtests has also invested in a Sysmex Haematology Sample Tracking (HST) line that will receive thousands of blood samples a day with minimal downtime and operator intervention. Once a sample is loaded, there is no technical intervention until results validation. By removing unnecessary physical handling of the samples, the HST line cuts down any room for human error, increases safety, accuracy and speed. The modular, flexible design of the HST line also allows for unlimited expansion and updating as capacity or technology advances.
 

“By investing in these state of the art technologies we’re creating a system that is as future proof as possible and that will allow us to roll out future improvements and innovations to clinicians like eRequesting.”

With Labtests eRequest system, for the first time in New Zealand, doctors will be able to electronically order their patients’ tests, track the progress of tests in real-time through the laboratory and will be notified by Labtests if their patients haven’t turned up at the collection centre to have their samples taken. e-Request increases clinical safety for doctors and their patients and ensures timely follow-up and diagnosis.

At a glance: Labtests’ Siemens ADVIA LabCell

• First of its kind in a New Zealand laboratory.
• Second largest in the world with 21.5 metres of continuous track.
• Has 11 analysers - four chemistry units and 7 immunoassay units.
• Capable of processing 900 samples (over 10,000 tests) per hour.
• Will process 50-60% of all samples that come into the core lab with results availableto clinicians within 4 hours of them arriving into the Laboratory.
• Requires less blood for testing – a minimum of 80% of tests can be performed on a single tube of blood.
• Less manual handling of sample – improving processing time and reducing the risk of human error in the laboratory.
• Testing on the LabCell includes diagnosis and monitoring of renal, liver and thyroid function, measuring blood glucose and lipids, diabetes monitoring, detection of markers of cardiac damage, pregnancy testing, hormone assays, monitoring blood levels of therapeutic drugs, diagnosis of infectious diseases like Hepatitis and HIV and screening for cancer markers.
• Chosen by Labtests because of the advances it can deliver in the laboratory and for clinicians in terms of the speed, accuracy of results and the reliability of the service.