Medical Lab Devices: Equipment, Functions, and Lab Types Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of medical laboratory devices and equipment used across various lab types. It details the functions and applications of devices in hematology, chemistry, blood banking, toxicology, microbiology, serology, urinalysis, and coagulation labs. The report ...Read More

Running head: MEDICAL LAB DEVICE
Medical Lab Device
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Hematology Laboratory
The hematology laboratory is used for studying blood samples for identification,
treatment and prevention of blood-related diseases. There are primarily three types of devices
or equipment that are used in this laboratory.
1. Centrifuge- This device is used for sedimenting particles that are suspended in the
fluid-like cells. The main principle of this device is centrifuge exerts a centrifugal
force that is greater than the gravitational force, ultimately sedimenting the particle
downward. The faster sedimentation occurs when the centrifugal force is greater. The
different types of centrifuge that are present in the laboratory are Fixed Angle Rotor,
Swing-out rotor and the different types of models present are Hand centrifuge which
is performed manually, Battery Operated which runs on power, Electric Bench which
is based upon speed, Microhaematocrit which are used to identify the volume,
Ultracentrifuge which protects the cells from heating, Cytocentrifuge which is used in
transferring specimen from one slide to another (Kim et al.)
2. Automatic Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)- It is used to locate the position of
red blood cells along with the edge of blood plasma. The devices analyses and process
these two things and the data is displayed in the led screen (Lapic et al.).
3. Microscope- It is used in blood lab for observing the blood cells, especially RBC and
WBC and also to identify fungus present in the blood sample. It is used in observing
objects which are not visible in the naked eye. The different types of microscopes are
simple, compound, stereo, confocal, scanning electron and Transmission Electron
(Thorn).
4. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)- It is used in blood laboratory to
identify antibodies, the protein that is present in the blood (Aydin).

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5. Colorimeter- It is a photochemical analysis technique used in the quantitative
estimation of haemoglobin, creatinine, blood sugar (Yan et al.).
Chemistry Laboratory
The different types of equipment present in the chemistry laboratory are beakers,
Erlenmeyer flasks, Test Tubes, watch glasses, Graduated cylinders, Burets, Thermometers,
Electrophoresis apparatus, Chromatography, Ultracentrifuge.
1. Beakers- It is used in mixing, stirring and heating chemicals. It commonly has a
lip present around the rims along with markings to measure the liquid.
2. Erlenmeyer flasks- this flask allows easy mixture and swirling of liquids. It is also
used for heating liquids.
3. Graduated cylinder- it is used for measuring the volume of the liquid. It consists
of several markers along with increments.
4. Burets- it is a long glass tube also used in an indication of liquid volume.
5. Thermometers- thermometers are used to measure the temperature of the liquids.
It is made of glass or metals.
6. Electrophoresis apparatus- it is used to detect proteins from any sources (Li et al.).
7. Chromatography- it is mainly used for separating liquids. It can be both analytical
and preparative (Coskun).
8. Ultracentrifuge- it is used to separate particles based upon molecular mass.
Blood Banking-
The different types of equipment present in the blood banks are Autoclave,
incubators, pipettes, centrifuge, blood shaker, cryofuge, plasma extractor.
1. Autoclave- it is a machine that kills microbes with the help of steam pressure; it is
heated at a particular temperature for proper sterilisation (Sheth et al.).

3MEDICAL LAB DEVICE
2. Incubators- it is used to maintain proper temperature, oxygen and co2 for cell
cultures.
3. Pipettes- it is used in the transportation of measured volume.
4. Centrifuge- used in sedimenting particles that are suspended in the fluid.
5. Blood shaker- It is used for collecting blood from the body along with displaying
the actual volume of blood, collection time, blood flow.
6. Cryofuge- it is used in the separation of different components of blood.
7. Plasma extractor- it is used in the extraction of blood constituents from the
centrifuged bags. The different components are thrust from top to bottom (Yang et
al.).
Toxicology laboratory
The different types of equipment used in a toxicology laboratory are Polymerase
Chain reaction, Electrophoresis, blood gas analyser, Nasogastric tube.
1. Polymerase Chain reaction- used to study the effects of xenobiotics in tissues and
cells. It is identified by the activation of genes.
9. Electrophoresis- Used in the analysis of different types of analytes and also the
identification of protein biomarkers sources (Li et al.).
2. Blood gas analyser- Used in the identification of quantity of toxic gaseous present
in the blood.
3. Nasogastric tube- it is used in the identification of the level of bleeding from the
gastrointestinal tract (Edwards et al.).
Microbiology laboratory
The different types of equipment present in the microbiology laboratory are Hot air
oven, autoclave, microbiological incubator, BOD incubator, Homogeniser.

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1. Hot air oven- it is mainly used for sterilization for equipment such as pipettes,
petri dishes and glassware.
2. Autoclave- it is used in the sterilisation of glassware. It is regarded as the nucleus
of this lab.
3. Microbiological incubator- used in the growth of microorganism by providing a
situatable temperature.
4. BOD incubator- used in the growth of organisms at a lower temperature. The
temperature that is usually used is 50 degree centrigrade to 2-3 degree centrigrade
(Gordon et al.).
5. Homogeniser- used in microbial analyses from liquid samples (Amiri and Naji).
Serology Laboratory
The different types of instruments used in the serological laboratory are Gene Xpert,
respiratory panel testing, rt PCR.
1. Gene xpert- it is a cartiledge based nucleic acid amplification test used in the
detection of gram-negative resistance bacteria.
2. Respiratory panel- used in the amplification, detection and analysis of microbes
responsible for the infection.
3. RT-PCR- used in the amplification of specific DNA present in the sample. It is
also known as a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. DNA is detected in real-
time and is identified by the activity of fluorescent reports (Ghannam and
Varacallo).
Urinalysis Laboratory-
The equipment used in the urinalysis is microscopes and dipstick.

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1. Microscope- it is used in urine analysis to detect the abnormalities in the blood cells
or any chronic infections present in the kidney (Thorn).
2. Dipstick- it is a chemical stick used in the detection of bilirubin, protein and high pH
in urine.
Coagulation-
The equipment used in the coagulation laboratory are coagulation analyzers and flow
cytometers.
1. Coagulation analyser- it is used to measure the coagulation speed as well as
thromboplastin and thrombin level in blood.
2. Flow cytometers- it is used in counting the number of cells present in the blood along
with its chemical and physical properties (Adan et al.).
Difference between STAT lab and Regular Lab
Stat labs are responsible for performing Stat testing or immediate testing to provided
information about patient health in a critical situation. These tests are intended to perform and
enable to decrease the patient to stay in the hospital, decrease the turn over time, increase
patient convenience, increase the patient-client satisfactory rate (Lowe and Hart). The test
that can be performed in this lab is ABO blood typing and screening, smear testing to identify
the bacterial strain, Coombs test. Testing of electrolytes presents in an individual body,
checking of protein, serum and calcium.
The regular laboratory is used in the identification of clinical specimens and obtaining
information about the health of the patient. The common test that is performed in this
laboratory are complete blood counting; this is used to identify the types and numbers of cells
that are present in the blood (Pretini et al.). It is used in determining the health status and also
in the identification of nutritional status present in the body. It also identifies conditions such

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as malaria, anemia, leukemia. The prothrombin time is also performed in this case to check
the clotting factors present in the blood. These laboratories also perform basic metabolic tests
to identify the blood glucose level, kidney function, electrolytes, high blood pressures and
also a routine testing.

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Works Cited
Adan, Aysun, et al. "Flow cytometry: basic principles and applications." Critical reviews in
biotechnology 37.2 (2017): 163-176.
Amiri Samani, Sara, and Mohammad Hadi Naji. "Effect of homogenizer pressure and
temperature on physicochemical, oxidative stability, viscosity, droplet size, and
sensory properties of Sesame vegetable cream." Food science & nutrition 7.3 (2019):
899-906.
Aydin, Suleyman. "A short history, principles, and types of ELISA, and our laboratory
experience with peptide/protein analyses using ELISA." Peptides 72 (2015): 4-15.
Edwards, Sarah T., et al. "Increased episodes of aspiration on videofluoroscopic swallow
study in children with nasogastric tube placement." Plos one 15.1 (2020): e0227777.
Ghannam, Mousa G., and Matthew Varacallo. "Biochemistry, Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR)." StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, 2018.
Gordon, Oliver, et al. "Comparison of different incubation conditions for microbiological
environmental monitoring." PDA journal of pharmaceutical science and
technology 68.5 (2014): 394-406.
Kim, Daehwan, et al. "Centrifuge: rapid and sensitive classification of metagenomic
sequences." Genome research 26.12 (2016): 1721-1729.
Lapić, Ivana, et al. "Automated measurement of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate: method
validation and comparison." Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
(CCLM) 57.9 (2019): 1364-1373.

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Li, Jialiang, et al. "Enhanced resolution of DNA separation using agarose gel electrophoresis
doped with graphene oxide." Nanoscale research letters 11.1 (2016): 1-6.
Lowe, Gary R., Yolanda Griffin, and Michael D. Hart. "Analysis of STAT laboratory
turnaround times before and after conversion of the hospital information
system." Respiratory care 59.8 (2014): 1275-1280.
Pretini, Virginia, et al. "Red Blood Cells: Chasing Interactions." Frontiers in physiology 10
(2019): 945.
Sheth, Nomal Chintan, et al. "Evaluation of new technique of sterilization using biological
indicator." Journal of conservative dentistry: JCD 20.5 (2017): 346.
Thorn, Kurt. "A quick guide to light microscopy in cell biology." Molecular biology of the
cell 27.2 (2016): 219-222.
Yan, Jun-Chao, et al. "A miniaturized colorimeter with a novel design and high precision for
photometric detection." Sensors 18.3 (2018): 818.
Yang, Fang, et al. "Extraction of Cell‐Free Whole Blood Plasma Using a Dielectrophoresis‐
Based Microfluidic Device." Biotechnology journal 14.3 (2019): 1800181.