14 Essential Laboratory Equipment Explained: Names, Functions, and Leading Brands

This article delves into 14 essential laboratory equipment, offering a comprehensive overview of their names, working principles, and significance in various medical and research applications. By exploring brands of those equipment, we aim to provide a clear understanding of the leading options available to laboratories today, helping professionals make informed decisions about their equipment needs.

1. Biochemistry Analyzer

• Principle:Utilizes spectroscopic technology, where different atoms absorb light differently.
• Methods: Primarily includes two methods: colorimetry and indirect methods.
• Significance: Biochemistry analyzers are used to detect and analyze biochemical substances, providing crucial information for the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and health status assessment in clinical settings.
• Brands: Hitachi (Japan), Sysmex (Japan), Siemens (Germany), Beckman Coulter (USA), Roche (Switzerland), Abbott (USA), Toshiba (Japan), Seamaty (China)

2. Hematology Analyzer

• Types: Three-part differential and five-part differential hematology analyzers.
• Principle: Based on the non-conductive nature of blood cells, it detects changes in resistance as blood cells suspended in an electrolyte solution pass through a counting aperture. This method is known as the impedance method.
• Significance: Enhances the accuracy of laboratory results and provides numerous experimental indicators, playing a crucial role in diagnosing and differentiating diseases.
• Brands: Beckman Coulter (USA), Abbott (USA), Horiba ABX (France), Sysmex (Japan), Nihon Kohden (Japan), Siemens (Germany), Radiometer (Denmark),Seamaty (China)

3. Blood Gas Analyzer

• Introduction: Blood gas analyzers are medical devices for blood testing, known for their speed, convenience, and broad range. They can quickly measure gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as the pH and related indicators of blood. They provide rapid and accurate detection crucial for the rescue of critically ill patients.
• Brands: Radiometer (Denmark), Roche (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), GEM (USA), Abbott (USA), Seamaty (China)

4. Chemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyzer

• Introduction: Chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) is an immunoassay method that uses a chemiluminescent substance to label antigens or antibodies directly. The analyzer consists of two parts: the immune reaction system and the chemiluminescence analysis system. The latter uses a chemiluminescent substance catalyzed by a catalyst and oxidized to form an excited intermediate that emits photons when returning to a stable state. The emitted light is measured to determine the presence of specific substances. The immune reaction system involves labeling the luminescent substance on the antigen (chemiluminescence immunoassay) or antibody (immunochemiluminescence assay).
• Brands: Roche (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Abbott (USA), Beckman Coulter (USA), Tosoh (Japan), Snibe (China)

5. Urine Sediment Analyzer

Introduction:Fully automated urine sediment analyzers use microscopic image recognition technology to automatically locate and capture formed elements in urine. They perform automatic identification and classification counting of these elements using morphological methods. These analyzers are primarily used in clinical labs and nephrology labs for routine urinalysis.

Brands: Sysmex (Japan), DS Medical (USA), Siemens (Germany), IRIS (USA), Dirui (China), Mindray (China)

6. Coagulation Analyzer

• Introduction: Coagulation analyzers are laboratory instruments for examining thrombosis and hemostasis. They measure molecular markers related to hemostasis and thrombosis, which are closely associated with various clinical conditions such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, venous thrombosis, thromboangiitis obliterans, pulmonary embolism, pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and chronic obstructive pneumonia. The use of coagulation analyzers for laboratory testing of thrombosis and hemostasis is essential. They are available in fully automatic and semi-automatic types.
• Brands: Sysmex (Japan), Medtronic (Germany), Stago (France), Beckman Coulter (USA), bioMérieux (Germany), Huanfan (China)

7. Fully Automatic Hemorheology Analyzer

• Types and Principles:

· Capillary Viscometer (Pressure Sensor Type): Measures the viscosity of liquids based on the time required for them to flow through a standard capillary under the same conditions. Viscosity is proportional to the time required for the liquid to flow through a set distance.

· Cylindrical Viscometer (Suspension Type): Consists of two coaxial cylinders with a liquid to be tested placed in the gap. The inner cylinder is connected to a spring wire (suspension). Generally, the inner cylinder is fixed, and the outer cylinder rotates at a known angle. Viscosity is calculated from the torque applied to the liquid.

· Cone and Plate Viscometer: Composed of a circular flat plate and a coaxial cone. The liquid is placed between the cone and the plate. Generally, the plate is fixed, and the cone rotates at a known angle. Viscosity is calculated from the torque applied to the cone.

• Brands: Beckman Coulter (USA), Sysmex Europe

8. Fully Automatic Bacterial Culture Analyzer

• Introduction: The rapid microbiological culture system can quickly and sensitively detect pathogenic microorganisms in the blood of patients with sepsis and bacteremia. It can also detect pathogenic microorganisms in normally sterile body parts (thoracic cavity, abdominal cavity, joint cavity, pericardial cavity, cerebrospinal cavity, etc.), providing a diagnostic basis for rapid and effective clinical anti-infection treatment.
• Brands: Thermo Fisher (USA), BD (USA), bioMérieux (Germany)

9. Microbial Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Analyzer

• Introduction: Identification tests use the principle of combining fluorescence enhancement with traditional enzyme-substrate biochemical color reactions, designed based on microbial identification expert data to optimize identification test combinations for faster, more sensitive, and accurate results. Antibiotic susceptibility tests use traditional turbidimetry and patented colorimetric dual standards for rapid and accurate sensitivity reporting.
• Brands: bioMérieux (Germany), BD (USA), Thermo Fisher (USA), Siemens (Germany)

10. Cryostat

• Function: Used for rapid pathological diagnosis of fresh tissue during surgery, determining the nature of lesions, the presence of metastasis, and any remaining pathological tissue at the resection margin, providing reliable information for surgical treatment.
• Brands: Leica (Germany), Medicon (Germany), Sakura (Japan), Shandon (UK), Thermo Fisher (USA)

11. Tissue Processor

• Introduction: Automatically processes human or animal and plant tissues by sequentially immersing them in various solvents for dehydration, clearing, and paraffin infiltration, as preparation for pathological analysis. It is suitable for use in medical schools, hospital pathology departments, medical research institutions, animal and plant research units, and food inspection laboratories.
• Brands: Thermo Fisher (USA), Leica (Germany), Sakura (Japan), Tosoh (Italy), Shandon (UK), Medicon (Germany)

12. Tissue Embedding Center

• Introduction: Tissue embedding centers process human or animal and plant specimens after dehydration and paraffin infiltration to embed them into wax blocks for histological diagnosis or research. Suitable for use in medical schools, hospital pathology departments, medical research institutions, animal and plant research units, and food inspection laboratories.
• Brands: Thermo Fisher (USA), Leica (Germany), Sakura (Japan), Tosoh (Italy), Shandon (UK), Medicon (Germany)

13. Centrifuge

• Introduction: Centrifugation uses centrifugal force to accelerate the separation of different materials. It is primarily divided into filtration centrifuges and sedimentation centrifuges. Filtration centrifuges operate on the principle that the centrifugal force generated by a high-speed rotating centrifuge drum, combined with appropriate filter media, accelerates the ejection of liquid from the solid-liquid mixture, leaving the solid phase in the drum, effectively separating solids from liquids, or achieving dehydration. Sedimentation centrifuges operate on the principle that the strong centrifugal force generated by the rotor's high-speed rotation accelerates the sedimentation of different density components (solid or liquid) in the mixture, separating substances with different sedimentation coefficients and buoyant densities.
• Brands: Thermo Fisher (USA), Sigma (Germany), Eppendorf (Germany), Hitachi (Japan), Beckman Coulter (USA)

14. Biological Safety Cabinet

• Introduction: Biological safety cabinets are designed to protect the operator, the laboratory environment, and the experimental materials from exposure to infectious aerosols and splashes that may be generated when handling primary cultures, bacterial and viral strains, and diagnostic specimens.
• Brands: Thermo Fisher (USA), Esco (Singapore)

Conclusion

In summary, the 14 laboratory instruments discussed are crucial for advancing medical research and diagnostics. Understanding their principles, significance, and leading brands enables laboratories to make informed choices, enhancing their ability to meet the demands of modern healthcare. As technology evolves, these instruments will continue to play a vital role in improving patient care and scientific discovery.