Laboratory Facility

IsThisYourLab?

Or is this your lab?

 Keep laboratory neat and organized  This says a great deal about the lab  Convey image that animal users are interested in a quality program  Good Animal Care=Good Science First Impressions

Laboratory  The veterinarian and vet technician are an efficient team in a laboratory situation  Veterinarians depend on laboratory results to help establish diagnosis track the course of diseases and offer prognoses to clients.  A veterinarian is trained to interpret test results, whereas a veterinarian technician is trained to generate these results

Laboratory Facilities  Adequate location.  Adequate funding  Safety and security.  Adequate space.  Adequate lighting.  Environmental control.  Equipment and instruments.  Good housekeeping.  Hazardous disposal  Appropriate storage.

Location  The veterinary clinical laboratory should be located in the area that is separate from other hospital operations.  The area must be well lit and large enough to accommodate laboratory equipment, as well as provide a comfortable work area.

 Countertop space must be sufficient so that the sensitive equipment such as chemistry analyzers and cell counters can be physically separated from centrifuges and water baths

Sink:  A sink is needed for a source of running water to provide a place to rinse, drain, or stain specimens.  A technician should have a working knowledge of the local laws in regards to disposing of chemicals and waste.  When in doubt do not put unknown chemicals down the drain.

Equipment  “The laboratory shall possess or have access to all equipment necessary for the correct performance of all services.  All equipment shall be identified, properly maintained and calibrated with maintenance and calibration procedures documented.”

Basic equipment Microscope Microscope  It may use to evaluate blood, urine, semen, exudates, and transudates; other fluids feces; and other miscellaneous specimens.  It also may be use to detect internal and external parasites and initially characterize bacteria.  Ideally, the practice should maintain two microscopes (parasites, hematology)

Centriguge  The centrifuge is used to separate substance of different densities that are in a solution.  When a solid and liquid components are present in the sample, the liquid portion is referred to as the supernatant and the solid component is referred to as sediment

Refractometer  A refractometer, or total solids meter, is used to measure the refractive index of a solution.  The most common uses are determination of the specific gravity of urine and other fluids and the protein concentration of plasma or other fluids

Chemistry Analyzer  A variety of different chemistry analyzers are available for use in the veterinary medicine.  Most chemistry analyzers used utilize the principals of photometry to quantify constituents found in blood. p.13  Spectrophotometers are design to measure the amount of light transmitted through a solution

Hematology Analyzers  Facilitate generation of hematologic data for the complete blood count (CBC).  Enumeration of cells  Differential with blood cell count

Incubator  A variety of microbiology tests require the use of an incubator.  The incubator must be capable of sustaining a constant 37° C  Some incubators have built-in humidity controls

Storage:  Adequate storage must be available to store tubes, stains, reagents etc to keep the countertops free of clutter.  Some reagents must be refrigerated or frozen so a refrigerator/freezer should be made available  Flammable liquid cabinets for chemicals

Electrical Supply:  Placement of electrical equipment requires careful consideration. Sufficient electrical outlets and circuit breakers must be made available. Placement of outlets should also be taken into consideration.

Specimens “The laboratory shall have procedures (SOP) for the collection of specimens to ensure that they are both appropriate to the test being undertaken and suitable for testing.”

Complex procedures to send to other labs  Proper instruments for collection.  Sample selection.  Packaging and Shipping

Information To Accompany A Case  Owner address and contact information.  Submitting veterinarian info.  Field diagnosis.  Samples submitted.  Species and ID of animal.  Age/species/breed of animals affected.  Date of initial cases/death losses

Initial basic test offering  Clinical pathology & parasitology.  Bacteriology.  Serology (select agents).  Viral serology (select agents).  Histopathology

Advance test offering  Toxicology  Virus isolation  Molecular genetics testing  Comprehensive immunological testing.

Public Health Surveillance  Cooperation with allied health professions.  Zoonotic disease surveillance.  Reporting zoonotic diseases that may pose a public health risk.

Information Technology  Electronic accessioning  Results capture (records)  Reporting  Case coordination  Workload statistics  Data warehousing  Web services

Services  Actual test turn-around.  Timely reporting.  Test result interpretation.  New tests as needed.  Client surveys.

Laboratory Safety  A safety program is essential for ensuring the safety of employees in a laboratory setting. The safety policy should include safety equipment and supplies including, an eyewash station, fire extinguishers, spill clean up kits, waste disposal containers and protective gloves.