Purchase and installation of an automated pipetting system (incorporating a Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler)

The East Genomics strategy is to progressively repatriate wet lab testing to Cambridge over a period of time. The reduction in lab space at Leicester and ageing equipment at Nottingham are both factors in choosing to repatriate Microarray capacity to the CUH laboratory in the next year and to end the process at both of the lgls.

The CUH genomics laboratory needs to invest in additional equipment to support the consolidation of the East Genomics Microarray service at Cambridge. There is an obsolescence issue with the current configuration of equipment and the introduction of a new Array which is not backward compatible. The laboratory cannot perform the upgrade of the equipment and transfer to the new Array without significant interruption to testing. There is not sufficient capacity to repatriate all the existing testing even before accounting for future growth.

The plan is therefore to purchase a new pipetting system configured for the new array. This can be used to achieve QA approval of the process without impacting on current testing volumes. Once complete, the existing Array can be updated to the new version and then repatriation of testing from lgls can occur in 25/26.

The Cambridge laboratory acquired an Infinium pipetting system with Tecan Freedom EVO 150cm liquid handler in 2020 to introduce a high-throughput microarray test. The lab delivers over 6,000 results a year using this platform testing young patients with suspected rare-disorders, pregnancy cases to aid decision making on termination of pregnancies, as well as blood cancer patients including participation in a national Altogether trial for paediatric leukaemia.

Ilumina upgraded their offering of the 'Excaliber' assay protocol in June 2024. It streamlines sample preparation workflows and reduces errors which will save input time from laboratory staff.

The existing system needs to be updated to this protocol within two years to avoid running with an unsupported assay. This requirement has shaped our approach to increasing the liquid handling capacity at Cambridge. Purchasing another system at this point allows the laboratory to install and QA approve the new configuration without reducing current capacity. Once completed, all liquid handling will run through the new equipment whilst the upgrade to the 'Excaliber' protocol is completed on our existing equipment. The repatriation can then progress during the with an aim to be complete for April 2026.