The global shift towards remote work following the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the adoption and utilization of liquid handling automation in laboratories, but how easy is it to actually implement and will it stay a staple in the lab even in the post-COVID era?
We were trying to figure out ways that we could really keep the lab moving and keep team members engaged with the science - and the Andrew+ really allowed us to do that.
How can automation be easily implemented in a mostly « work from home » environment?
With scientists and researchers adapting to a work-from-home model, there is a heightened emphasis on the need for streamlined and efficient laboratory processes. Liquid handling automation has emerged as a crucial solution, allowing researchers to remotely control and monitor experiments while minimizing the need for physical presence in the lab. The team at Mammoth Biosciences was notably struggling with the challenge of needing to maintain their momentum around developing their Crispr-based diagnostic solution while many of their colleagues had to work from home and/or were not able to come into the lab every day.
The Andrew+ Robot and OneLab software directly address the difficulties of many labs within this context and beyond, as the Mammoth Biosciences team can attest to. By implementing the Andrew+ robot and cloud-based OneLab software, their principal scientists were able to keep driving the setup and execution of their Design of Experiment methods remotely while not compromising on their efficiency.
Automation naturally enhances precision, accuracy, and reproducibility of complex methods, but the key to successful remotely optimized automation is the OneLab cloud software. First, the intuitive nature of the OneLab software minimizes the learning curve needed in order to implement automation quickly. Moreover, the cloud-based structure of OneLab also plays a critical role when it comes to seamlessly executing automated methods by directly enabling scientists to design and validate methods remotely before easily transferring them to the lab without having to be on site themselves.
« We can easily incorporate any new member of the lab probably within the same day. »
What are the unique benefits to remote-capable automation, even in the post-covid era?
Andrew+ becomes another lab worker which requires limited space
Automating remotely has the ability of increasing work capacity even when at full operational levels
Andrew+ replaces the menial and tedious tasks, enabling more walk-away time
Automating greatly contributes to better ergonomics by reducing manual strain
Improve and increase throughput while being very easy to configure
From the time when I was approached with the idea of taking on the Andrew+ as my ‘hands in the lab’, to when I was executing my first protocol was just a matter of days.
