Life science laboratories efficiently automated

Small installation distances, small module sizes and fast code reading from a minimum distance - these requirements always present code readers with special challenges. Finding the right scanner tailored to their requirements for a multilane application for detecting sample tubes and for their allocation and traceability was both a task and a challenge for Markus Wolf. As a Senior System Analyst, he has been developing system concepts for the Swiss manufacturer and solution provider for laboratory instruments Tecan for over 20 years.

Scanners play an important role in the overall workflow in order to effectively track samples and thus increase process reliability. Tecan's end customers are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments and forensic and diagnostic laboratories in the life science sector.

Space-saving integration

A common requirement is that the barcode reader must be able to be integrated into compact analysis devices in the most space-saving way possible, despite the wide reading field. For Tecan, this was a decisive criterion as to why the BCL300 barcode reader from Leuze electronic was chosen for the new automation platform. "Strictly speaking, the BCL 300 barcode reader from Leuze electronic was the only device on the market that met my expectations in terms of the reading field," says Markus Wolf. "In addition to the large reading field, another advantage was that numerous special functions such as software commands and safety features could be flexibly integrated into the barcode reader at a good price-performance ratio." Even the appearance of the device was modified to meet Tecan's individual requirements. The result was a specific, pre-configured scanner tailored precisely to Tecan's needs, which was given a customer-specific type number and is therefore subject to change management at Leuze electronic. This means that no software or hardware changes can be made without prior customer approval, which is essential for certified devices in medical technology.

"The BCL 300 barcode reader was the only device on the market that met my expectations in terms of the reading field."

Markus Wolf Senior System Analyst Tecan

Flexible complete solution from a single source

"It is also an advantage for us that we can obtain our completely individual barcode reader, including the PCB, as a complete package from Leuze electronic," says the systems analyst. Both the optics and the PCB come from the Leuze Group: The optics module is manufactured by the optical sensor manufacturer Leuze electronic in Owen - the assembled PCB and the integrated system based on it come from Leuze Assembly, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leuze electronic.

Barcode reader BCL 300

"Our high degree of innovation, the good price-performance ratio and our individually tailored support are recognized in the EMS service provider market," says Sebastian Raible, who has been Operations Manager at Leuze electronic Assembly for a year. A sophisticated logistics concept makes it possible to combine a wide range of batch sizes with a large number of variants. The comprehensive range of technological services makes Leuze electronic Assembly a competent and reliable partner for the assembly of THT and SMT components on flexible or rigid PCBs. Its core competence lies in connection technology on flexible carrier material as well as in the assembly of fine pitch BGAs including "Package on Package" (PoP) solutions. Modern testing technologies such as the flying probe and AOI ensure their high quality standards for optical process control. In this specific multilane application on Tecan's Freedeom EVO platform, 6 x 16 lanes have to be identified; on the new Fluent platform it is even 6 x 32. Extrapolating the number of samples, this corresponds to a 96-well plate on the Freedom EVO platform and two on the Fluent platform. The samples and also the position labels must be read very quickly and simultaneously by the barcode scanner in the "fly-by" and assigned to each other accordingly. An absolute zero error tolerance applies here. Thanks to its high depth of field, the BCL 300 barcode reader from Leuze electronic, laser class 2, reads these lanes regardless of the order in which the racks are inserted. The new Fluent ID module works highly efficiently and avoids waiting and observation times for the liquid handling station by loading and identifying 32 barcodes in just three seconds.

Customized development especially for Tecan

To ensure absolutely reliable identification of the sample barcodes, Markus Wolf relies on a further function of the BCL300 that was specially adapted for Tecan: the geometric analysis of the reflected laser light. With the help of this functionality, the evaluation unit of the barcode scanner can precisely determine the horizontal position of the reflection. This allows the position or sample barcode to be precisely assigned. At the same time, a temporal analysis of the reading gate is carried out so that the temporal detection of the sample code can be traced back to a specific position barcode. This means that position and sample barcodes can be checked against each other to ensure reliable assignment to the respective position within the sample rack. This is extremely important, because especially when it comes to the complete identification and traceability of samples in the laboratory, the following applies to the automation of analysis processes: no errors are allowed to occur.

The combination of fast, reliable identification with direct feedback and error handling on the Fluent platform represents an economical solution for the user: compared to conventional automation approaches, this variant saves the end user several days of time each year.

Dr. Lutz Werner