High Capacity Testing an Enormous Asset for Livestock Producers

June 26, 2023 — 

Iowa State VDL SmartChip machines to produce up to 30,000 test results per day, compared to about 2,000 tests via the 96-well conventional method.

A machine that holds more than 5,000 samples on a plate no wider than a couple of postage stamps is among the innovations that could vastly enhance molecular diagnostic testing capacity at Iowa State University's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, advancements that would make tests more affordable and future pandemic-driven surges easier to handle.

The "SmartChip" quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) testing technology, in combination with a separate 384-sample system that can run 24 hours a day with limited staffing thanks to automated handling features, would give the VDL a needed increase in the volume of diagnostic tests it can process, said Rahul Nelli, a research assistant professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine.

Read the full story at National Hog Farmer.

[Source: National Hog Farmer 26 June 2023]