CML Healthcare unveils automated systems at Mississauga lab

Mississauga, ON – Laboratory services provider CML Healthcare says it has taken a significant step in increasing its throughput and automation by installing two BD Kiestra Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) systems.

On September 19, the company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Kennedy Lab in Mississauga to commemorate the occasion, which was attended by the city’s mayor, Hazel McCallion.

McCallion was given a tour of the facility by CML’s president and CEO, Tom Wellner, and Wendy Gilmour, the firm’s senior vice-president, laboratory operations.

CML says it is the first laboratory services provider in North America to deploy BD Kiestra’s TLA, which uses a barcode tracking system to identify samples and perform the correct inoculations.

“[It] automates what previously were fully manual processes in the inoculation and incubation of the microbiology platforms,” the company said in a statement. “Fast turnaround of inoculated specimens allows physicians to provide patients with the most effective treatment earlier, improving the standard of care while reducing unnecessary healthcare costs.”

Combined, the two systems conduct between 400 and 500 inoculations per hour, as well as tracking incubation and digital images of the 6,500 media plates daily, CML noted.

As a result, CML said laboratory personnel now have more time to dedicate to “analytical and value-added tasks.”