Automating Patient Sample Handling with LT Automation’s LabEntry System

01 Story

Modern laboratories face an ever-growing volume of patient samples that must be handled with speed, precision, and traceability. Being experts in Health Tech, LT Automation A/S has answered this challenge with LabEntry, an innovative modular robotic system designed to automate the transport, unpacking, and sorting of a variety of patient samples in a stable, safe and standardized way.

LabEntry originated from a close collaboration with a university hospital in Denmark. A healthcare professional identified the potential for smarter and smoother patient sample logistics, triggering the development of a solution to automate repetitive and labor-intensive processes.

This system was created with input from both Danish and international labs and hospitals, ensuring it would fit the diverse needs of global healthcare environments.

The LabEntry System consists of modules based on thoroughly tested technologies. The various modules can easily be combined, integrated and implemented in any current lab set up providing a high degree of customization and scalability meeting specific capacity requirements and enhancing different procedures: Transportation Box, Sorting Module, Emptying Module, Box Storage Module, Mobile Cobot, Box Module and Rack Module.

Focused primarily on human samples from GPs and phlebotomists destined for external laboratories, the Lab Entry System is now also being explored for broader Health Care and Health Tech applications.

The driving mission: streamline sample flow, free up staff for value-adding tasks, and ensure high-quality patient care through automation enabling e.g. more stable and more efficient handling, better jobs and increased traceability.

02 Challenges

Designing a system for automating the handling of biological samples came with a unique set of technical and environmental challenges:

• High variability in box presentation: Since the LabEntry Transport Boxes are packed by a wide range of people, there’s no consistent box orientation, and occasional unexpected items (papers, misplaced vials) appear in the packaging.
• Demanding object characteristics: The system must reliably detect and handle a variety of patient sample types, including those that are transparent, colored, or uniquely shaped.
• Tight space constraints: Many hospital and lab environments are small, making it essential to develop a solution that is both compact,robust and flexible Due to the modularity and scalability; each LabEntry solution can be customized meeting different procedures and environments.
• Accuracy and cleanliness standards: Not only does the system need to sort and process boxes correctly; it must also detect anomalies such as foreign objects or leaks that could compromise safety or quality.

These demands have called for a combination of precise robotics, advanced vision technology, and advanced, user-friendly software.

03 Solution

LabEntry is a comprehensive, scalable solution that integrates top-tier components to automate all three stages of sample logistics: Transport, Receipt, and Delivery. The LabEntry system has been developed and designed in-house, allowing LT Automation to maintain tight control over performance and quality.

The system features:

• KUKA robots for robust, high-precision handling
• Universal Robots cobots for flexible interaction in tight spaces
• Zivid 3D vision cameras delivering unified 2D/3D/color data for object recognition
• SICK barcode scanners for fast and reliable sample tracking
• Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) for autonomous material transport
• Festo gantry systems and custom-built grippers for stable and accurate manipulation
• SARSTEDT technologies for long-distance distribution

A standout component is the Zivid 2 camera, used to power three critical functions:

• Box orientation detection – enabling the LabEntry System to process Transportation Boxes regardless of how they arrive
• Foreign object detection – identifying unexpected items that could disrupt automated handling
• Leakage detection – flagging damaged samples that pose safety or quality concerns

04 Results

LabEntry has proven its value in real-world deployments, with concrete performance metrics:

• 60 LabEntry Transportation Boxes per hour processed on a single line
• 1,300 individual samples handled per hour

Among the benefits: the robotic modules are scalable and additional modules can gradually be added to increase capacity.

To date, five LabEntry lines have been installed in various Nordic Hospitals, with new projects actively underway. The system has received positive feedback from end users, who report satisfaction with its reliability, ease of use, and ability to effectively reduce the degree of repetitive daily human sample handling in complex environments.

LT Automation plans to continue focusing on European labs but is also prepared for global deployments. The company remains open to expanding LabEntry into adjacent applications, especially within the broader health and pharmaceutical sectors.