NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) –GE Health and Hamilton Robotics today announced a licensing agreement and collaboration to develop an automated workflow for sample handling and processing from FTA substrates.
The deal focuses on challenges in high-throughput dried sample processing for applications including drug metabolism and pharmacogenetics, and human identification, Richard Dool, GE Healthcare's general manager for consumables, said in a statement. By removing process bottlenecks, his firm and Hamilton hope to "establish a new standard in efficiency and reliability."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to Radi Hofstetter, vice president of the Hamilton facility in Bonaduz, Switzerland, FTA paper is becoming the method of choice in forensic sample collection, processing, and storage. "Incorporating this technology into an automated workflow will afford higher throughput and efficiencies within forensics as well as in new areas of application, including" drug metabolism and pharmacogenetics, he said.