Memories, memories

Medical Laboratory Observer, June, 2005 by Ronald H. Laessig, Chuck Millstein, Gene DiBenedetto, Carlos J. DiCisneros

As a clinical chemist of 39 years, I loved Roy Midyett's article [MLO, May 2005, "Ten instruments that changed the lab," p. 30]. As predicted, "How could you leave out the SMA 12/30 and/or SMA 12/60?" In the "prepanel days," the regimen was, "Make a tentative diagnosis based on history of physical symptoms and order a test (one) to confirm it." Post-SMA, it became, "Use a battery of tests to make the diagnosis." One only has to watch ER.

--Ronald H. Laessig, PhD

Director, State Laboratory of Hygiene

Professor Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

University of Wisconsin

Madison, WI

The first ACA used metal rings that had to be threaded with two wires per channel from one end of a plastic electronic board to the other. Later ones had plastic and metal clips that "made" the ring, with the wire ends soldered to the boards. You had to use Scotch tape to hold them closed when the clip end broke off. And every lab had a "thermal accelerator" (hair dryer) to bring the chamber up to temperature after you worked on it.

The AA-I didn't have a wash cycle between samples, and it had a metal sample wheel. If you had a wash cycle and a plastic sample wheel, you had the newer AA-II. The 12/30 used "trombones" of glass for timing the testing cycles. The 12/60 used glass delay coils so you could sequence when the results came off.

The first Coulters I worked on were the Model A and the B. Each was a "one-channel" analyzer, with nixie lights going around in a circle--sort of like Dr. Frankenstein's mad machine. You could change the apertures and do platelet counts on your WBC sample--after you lysed the red cells.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The first multichannel hematology analyzer we had was a Technicon 4. It did not like static electricity, so guys could not wear nylon shirts and ladies could not wear nylon slips or uniforms.

One of the most interesting early multianalyte analyzers was the Beckman ASTRA. You could buy it with a "rapid kit," which was essentially one or more of every piece of the machine except the frame. I remember getting a call from a guy who wanted to know if he was going to have to put it together when he received the "rapid kit" before the analyzer arrived.

I never did a Folin-Wu glucose, but we still had the tubes. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

--Chuck Millstein, MBA, MT(ASCP)

Lab Manager

Memphis and Shelby County Health Department

Memphis, TN

I thoroughly enjoyed the article on laboratory instruments. As a clinical laboratory scientist who cut his "lab teeth" on these instruments, both in a medical technology internship and on my first job, the photos brought back fond memories. It required some skill to change the dialysis membrane on the Technicon Autoanalyzer. And do not forget the next generation of analyzers, such as the Gemini centrifugal analyzer and the Beckman benchtops, for several analytes. These were the forerunners of the Beckman ASTRA 8. I am sure all who used them remember the sore thumbs from the manual pipetting. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and the reminder of how far laboratory instrumentation has evolved.

--Gene DiBenedetto, MS, MT(ASCP), SC

Assistant Director of Laboratory Services

Hallmark Health System

Melrose, MA

I enjoyed the story about the top 10 lab [instruments]. Very interesting. I thought that the urine dipstick readers would have been mentioned--also, the bar-code readers.

--Carlos J. DiCisneros,

MT(ASCP), CLS(NCA) MS; HSA

Town'n Country Hospital

Tampa, FL