Applications
Health Diagnostics & Newborn Screening
30 years of punching technology for NBS and health laboratories.
The first BSD punch instruments were developed to improve workflow for newborn screening. Now decades later, the application of BSD punch instruments includes a wider audience of personal health diagnostics and multiplexed assays based on colorimetry, fluorescence, MS, HPLC and molecular methods.
Critical factors in health screening and diagnostics include the ability to consistently punch multiple aliquots from areas of a dried blood spot, with maximum throughput. Often, different downstream assays will require specific subsample amounts that correspond to punch tool diameters. BSD instruments allow punch sites to be pinpointed to remove specific areas of the sample when there is low sample volume or conformity.
With an increasing trend to include molecular assays, features to reduce nucleic acid carryover between samples and the flexibility to subsequently operate multiple tests for biochemical and molecular assays are required.
Further, as subsamples can be very small, they are prone to effects of static electricity that can accumulate on the sample and on microplates or test tubes.
With increasing laboratory sophistication and a need for greater system integration to enhance automation and productivity, open systems compatibility is a growing demand.
