DIAGNOSTICS
Enhancing patient care with automated osmolality testing
With laboratories under pressure, automation allows staff to gain back time. Here, Megan Northam explains how her laboratory has benefited from the features of the OsmoPRO MAX Automated Osmometer.
The OsmoPRO MAX Automated Osmometer uses freezing point depression to provide fully automated testing for urine, serum and plasma osmolality. Suited for laboratories of all sizes, the instrument revolutionises osmolality testing with innovative flow- through technology that eliminates the need for consumables by pipetting samples directly from primary tubes, while performing testing and cleaning within the device. Continuous loading and unloading removes the need to batch test. Offering unparalleled automation, workflow flexibility, and data
management, the OsmoPRO MAX allows laboratories to free up resources so staff can focus on other tasks while also dramatically reducing turnaround times. Connected features also ensure safety and security.
Laboratory benefits Megan Northam is senior biomedical scientist in biochemistry at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, working at Manchester Royal Infirmary on the city’s health campus. Her laboratory serves a number of busy hospitals and has been using the OsmoPRO MAX for some time now. Previously though, manual working meant a small number of samples took up a lot of staff time, as Megan explains: “Osmolality testing isn’t a huge part of what we do – on a daily basis we
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probably get around 30 samples, of the 4,000-plus total samples which come through the laboratory. The key thing was the amount of time required to process those 30 samples. The samples would be aliquoted on our automated track, then a member of staff would spend up to four hours processing these samples in a batch together. This meant it was very difficult to process them either overnight or out of hours when the laboratory has fewer staff available.
“All the samples had to be manually pipetted, run in duplicate, we then had to run QC materials too with each batch. With two batches a day that small number of samples took up a lot of staff time.” With the laboratory’s analysers nearing the end of their life, a colleague of Megan’s saw the OsmoPRO MAX at a CPD event and realised the benefits and time saving that the instrument could bring to the Manchester laboratory. A business case was made with saving time the main thrust, and the new equipment was approved. Two old analysers were replaced, one with the OsmoPro MAX to offer full automation, and the second with an Osmo1, which can handle smaller samples taken from paediatric patients. Megan explains: “With the OsmoPro MAX, because we’re running duplicate samples, we need 400 µL; with the
The OsmoPRO MAX’s colour touchscreen and intuitive user interface enable staff of varying skill levels to operate the device.
OCTOBER 2025
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