Developing an efficient and economical laboratory tube sorting and registering machine

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop a more economical and domestic technology machine alternative which makes automatic tube sorting and registration in a core laboratory. Method: Firstly, an electromechanical design and prototype production, which are widely used in our country and which are mostly used in domestic goods, have been realized in order to achieve the desired level of service at optimum level. Secondly, the programmable logic controller program that controls this electromechanical unit is written and the mechanical mechanisms are provided to operate at the expected efficiency. Then, the software which can communicate with hospital information management system and laboratory information system via TCP/IP protocol has been created by making tube cap color and barcode reading process. Finally, for the purpose of testing the interoperability and effectiveness of all components, a similar industrial model was used in the University Hospital Central Laboratory to compare the process rate (sample/hour) and error rate (%) by using 100 pieces of the same trial samples tubes. Results: At this study, instead of using two separate industrial sensors for color and barcode reading which is a common method, it can be seen that both readings can be performed by software via a digital camera. This finding led to the simplification of the mechanical system according to the common use, thus providing a significant degree of economy and originality. Conclusion: At the end of the study, it was seen that the software and the mechanical design which are realized provides a performance close to the expensive and imported samples in the market. Key words: Image processing, Barcode reading, Color reading, Tube sorting.