Technology and laboratory instrumentation in the next decade.

Abstract

We are affected by many forces as we approach the first decade of the new millennium. Rapid advances in computer technology and robotic automation, from sample identification to collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of results, are opening doors for drastic improvements that will ultimately lead to miniaturization and cost reduction. Noninvasive technology, whether in vivo or ex vivo, is waiting in the wings to make its debut. Technology that has previously had an inordinately long period of gestation, such as near-infrared sensors for noninvasive measurement of glucose and other analytes, could well become a reality. The end of the next decade may be an era of nanotechnology that will drastically change the face of today's clinical laboratory.