Decuna automated the milk sampling for plate culture with existing equipment, implying an important cost save for the laboratory.

The racks with milk samples are loaded on the left side of the machine by the operators. The samples are conveyed to the centre, so that the pipette rack prepares the plates for culture.

Once the culture samples are taken, the samples are transferred to the right side of the machine, ready to be unloaded.

Both milk samples and culture plates are identified with a barcode. Severar barcode readers were placed to read the data in the barcodes. A computer stores the barcode data in a database and matches them, so that total traceability can be guaranteed in the sampling process.

In case of a positive analysis, the software can inmediately track:

• where the original sample is (if a cross-check is required)
• the farm where the sample was produced
• the animal that originated the sample