3 October 2014 - 3 October 2014 – Siemens Healthcare reported Thursday that the company, in agreement with Swiss Inpeco SA, has won an exclusive contract to automate a new clinical laboratory of US provider of diagnostic information services Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA.

The laboratory will be the first comprehensive automation solution Quest Diagnostics has set up in one of its regional mega-laboratories in the USA.

It is expected that the solution will become fully operational next year. It will enable Quest Diagnostics to process several thousand patient blood samples an hour. The solution will incorporate one of the largest automation tracks ever built. The track is expected to be 200 metres long and will be designed to facilitate sample flow through processing, testing and storage via a technology-driven process.

Under the contract, Siemens and Inpeco will be the preferred providers in case Quest Diagnostics decides to implement comparable automation solution at its other clinical labs at some point in the future. The Marlborough lab is one of a number of clinical laboratories Quest Diagnostics operates in the USA.

Steve Rusckowski, president and CEO of Quest Diagnostics, said that the new 'lab of the future' in Marlborough will help the company set a new standard in diagnostics services for the industry as a whole. The ultra modern automation solution that Siemens and Inpeco will deliver will be a major element in bringing this vision to life, he noted. The technologies will improve quality and efficiencies, so that the lab will offer diagnostic services of the highest quality but at a low relative cost, Rusckowski added. Via the collaboration with Siemens and Inpeco, the company will advance clinical testing and its vital role in creating a healthier world, he said.

The new system will completely automate the entire workload. Furthermore, it will support Quest Diagnostics' pursuit of Six Sigma quality, and provide quicker and more consistent turn-around times and efficiency gains. The system also features fully integrated data-management software enhanced to meet Quest Diagnostics' state-of-the-art custom requirements and to integrate effortlessly with the company's existing IT systems.

According to expectations, the Marlborough site will be fully automated in the second quarter of 2015.