Laboratory traces instrumentation operation problems to power delivery and aims to prevent damage, sample loss, and loss of productive time, which equaled $500,000 with 50% instrument downtime
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Pathology Department, at the recommendation of PerkinElmer Analytical Instruments Division, reviewed then selected Franek Technologies, the leader in certified Category III-3 laboratory battery backup power protection systems (LPS/UPS), to protect its investment in PerkinElmerSciex's Protof Maldi-tof (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization, time of flight) analyser within the Rosenblatt Clinical Proteomics Laboratory.
Prior to the installation, the laboratory experienced power fluctuations causing a continuous stream of instrumentation inconsistencies, PC board damage and lost samples, and significant loss of productive operating time.
Over a one-year period, the instrument was inoperable 50% of the time and the estimated damage from these power fluctuations was upwards of $500,000.
Since installation of the Franek Technologies instrumentation-specific power protection solution, the instrument has operated without incident, running as much as 16 hours a day and processing up to 3000 samples per week.
The Rosenblatt Laboratory determined that one of the root causes of its instrumentation performance problems may have been due to power delivery, including power fluctuations, harmonics, and transients.
Due to the sensitivity of this sophisticated analytical instrument, valued at $350,000, even the slightest variation in power delivery can be catastrophic.
At the urging of PerkinElmer, the laboratory sought the engineering expertise of Franek Technologies to solve the problem and staunch the losses.
Franek Technologies' applications engineering team provided an LPS solution that featured extended run-time capabilities to protect the instrumentation and supporting electronics, as well as ensure the consistent delivery of pure instrument specific conditioned power (true sine waves) to the instrument.
With the Franek Technologies power protection solution, the instrumentation is now protected 24/7 against the prior power surges and failures, some as short as 20 milliseconds, that were causing the costly damage, loss of irreplaceable samples, as well as significant lost productive time.
As Kevin Rosenblatt, assistant professor of pathology, associate director of the translational pathology division, and director of the clinical proteomics programme, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Pathology, explained, "when considering an investment of $350,000 in a highly-sensitive piece of equipment, I believe it's vital to provide additional laboratory-grade power protection.
"I've seen too many times what can happen to instrumentation, samples, and a research effort from inconsistent power delivery.
"I also believe that whenever a laboratory invests in high-end instrumentation, it should be protected and additional LPS protection should be figured into the overall cost from the get-go.
"In my lab, I need to know that we are delivering pure power to the instrument the way it should be and well within the manufacturer's specifications.
"Our investment in Franek Technologies' power protection solutions is definitely money well spent".Conducting cutting-edge translational (proteomics) pathology research, the Rosenblatt Clinical Proteomics Laboratory seeks to understand the communication break down between the constellations of protein molecules that trigger cells to divide, proliferate, and metastasize to become cancerous cells.
The goal is to then take this knowledge and translate it to patient applications - from 'research bench to clinical bedside' - to enable more individualised treatment for patients.
The research samples are taken from cancer patients at the time of diagnostic procedures.
The blood samples and biopsies obtained from patients are irreplaceable, as they are taken at a moment in time of a particular disease-state.
If lost or damaged, the samples cannot be duplicated.
It is therefore imperative to the laboratory's success that the patient samples are protected.
The certified, power protection provided by Franek Technologies provides the Rosenblatt Research Laboratory with an impermeable layer of protection for its most important research commodity.
