Automation in clinical microbiology.

Automation was introduced into the clinical microbiology laboratory in the 1960s but initially met with limited success. Today, instruments are an integral part of many clinical laboratories and are used for microbial detection, identification, and susceptibility testing; detection of positive blood cultures; screening urine samples for potential pathogens; and assaying levels of antimicrobial agents in body fluids. Automation has allowed more rapid diagnosis and elimination of the subjective interpretation of many manual tests. In addition, in some cases, automated tests are more sensitive and specific than manual techniques. However, automated testing often is more expensive than manual testing and is associated with the possibility of mechanical failure. Automation will continue to be an important part of the clinical microbiology laboratory and in the future will include more molecular biology technologies, such as the polymerase chain reaction. Perhaps practical applications of flow cytometry will be identified.