Sentinel Diagnostics today announced its new end-to-end platform for molecular diagnostics, dubbed SENTiNAT®200. The platform will support the full range of STAT-NAT® real-time PCR assays across parasitology, virology, pharmacogenetics, respiratory infections and healthcare-associated infections.
STAT-NAT® (Stabilised Amplification Technology Nucleic Acid Testing) is Sentinel’s proprietary technology that uses a new protective compound to stabilize the activity of enzymes for a long time without temperature controlled storage requirements.
The company offers a host of different tests across parasitology (Malaria Screening & Typing, Leishmania spp.), virology (HIV DNA, EBV, BKV, CMV, Adenovirus, HHV-6, HSV-1, HSV-2), pharmacogenetics (polymorphisms of TPMT, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, VKORC1), respiratory infections (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium avium Complex and antimicrobial resistance tests for Rifampicin- and Isoniazid-resistant mycobacterium) and healthcare-associated infections (VRE, CRE, MRSA).
Sentinel Diagnostics will deploy these pipelines on the Hamilton Microlab RT-STARlet and UgenTec FastFinder platforms - for hardware and software automation, respectively. Bringing together both solutions results in a unique sample-to-answer offering for medium-throughput laboratories.
Sentinel’s SENTiNAT®200, based on Hamilton’s Microlab RT-STARlet platform, is a medium throughput system that employs one (or two) on-deck MIC cyclers (Magnetic Induction Cycler, by Bio Molecular Systems). Combined with UgenTec’s FastFinder software for workflow, the new platform will be able to take any LIMS input and process results with minimal manual intervention, avoiding user error and significantly accelerating the workflow.
“The move to end-to-end systems has enabled laboratories globally to spend less time on repetitive workflow tasks and invest the available analyst time in high-value tasks, which improves lab throughput,” says Filippo De Luca, Executive Vice President at Sentinel Diagnostics. “When we decided to take the automation route to optimize lab operations, we wanted to make sure we adopted gold standard solutions with proven track records. That’s exactly what we did by choosing to collaborate with a household name such as Hamilton Bonaduz AG, who offers deep expertise in robotics.”
Steven Verhoeven, CEO of UgenTec, stated “UgenTec's FastFinder platform is the first intelligent end-to-end workflow solution, combining AI driven automation of PCR data analysis and interpretation with extensive workflow capabilities such as worklist management, plate setup and track & trace functions. The modular FastFinder software suite brings both together in a seamless end-user experience.”
“The market will definitely move towards deep and integrated automation over the next few years, with system miniaturization and end-to-end workflow automation becoming available to medium to low-throughput laboratories,” says Guido Meneghini, VP Robotics Direct Sales at Hamilton Bonaduz AG. “This combination of reagents, hardware and software in a single workflow is exactly what medium-throughput laboratories need to automate those assay pipelines their labs depend on. Thanks to our innovative automation technology, IVD-R certified, we’re proud to contribute to our Partners success.”
