Sample transport with a tube system & AirLab

A pneumatic tube system gets samples to the lab in minutes, without porter runs and without loss of quality.

Technology partnerAerocom· Aerocom GmbH & Co. · Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Where you stand: the why

What the journey to the lab costs your laboratory.

40–70 % of all rejected samples are rejected because of haemolysis, the single most common reason a sample cannot be used. Most of it is caused by the draw itself; handling and an unbraked arrival add to it. Every repeat draw costs the patient, the lab's time and materials.

Source: Lippi et al. 2008 · Clin Chem Lab Med 46(6):764–772

1 in 830samples is damaged on the way

Haemolysis from hard knocks in transit (studies on tube systems and haemolysis), assumption.

900 samplesper year with your figures

cushioned arrival with Aerocom

10 minper urgent sample

On foot instead of by tube system to the lab (literature and experience), plausible.

The sample’s time, not staff time. It counts towards the time to result, not towards euros.

in under 5 minutes by tube system

9 minper trip to the lab and back

Nurses carry samples themselves (experience from lab projects), assumption.

Porter runs like this only exist in a hospital. In a private lab the courier brings the samples, and there the gain is time rather than staff hours.

unloaded automatically with AUS

Worked out per sample from the source. The projection uses your figures from the quick check: here 3,000 samples a day and 250 operating days a year.

Unusable samples

Haemolysis destroys red blood cells and makes potassium, LDH and other values unusable. The main cause is the draw itself; a system that runs too fast or brakes hard comes on top of that.

Aerocom brakes arriving carriers with counter-pressure air instead of a mechanical stop, and the speed can be set individually for delicate samples. That is what matters: measurably more cell damage only appears in systems running from about 6 metres per second or over 250 metres of route.

The urgent sample's journey

For critically ill patients, the walk delays decisions that matter. Measured: ~28.5 min per porter run against ~2.4 min by tube system (Yu et al. 2024).

Pneumatic transport straight across the building: no porter run, no waiting, at night and at weekends alike.

Skilled staff in the corridor

Nursing and laboratory staff take on transport tasks that need no professional judgement. With chronic staff shortages, that is a double burden.

The Auto Unload System receives, opens and unloads carriers with nobody waiting at the station, and sends the carrier back by itself using a transponder.

Aerocom · product solutions

Tube system. AUS. AirLab. Every transport route covered.

LabSentinels helps with selection and introductions; Aerocom remains the manufacturer, contract partner and service partner.

Why LabSentinels recommends Aerocom

Screenshot of the room view: scale model of the AirLab sending station on its base cabinet in a room, with a dimension label showing 94 cm wide and 99 cm high

Space needed

Does the device fit your space?

On your phone, the camera places the device true to scale where you plan to put it, at real size, with add-ons if you choose any. This does not work on a desktop screen.

Scan with your phone

The code takes you straight into the room view – one tap and the device stands in your space. Nothing is installed and nothing is recorded.

Pneumatic tube system

Aerocom tube systems connect collection points, wards and the laboratory in one closed network, scalable from point-to-point transport to a fully automated multi-line system.

Manufacturer infoPDF · EN · 1.1 MB

cushioned arrival with counter-air: pneumatic
fully automatic operation: 24/7
beds (manufacturer’s design size): from approx. 200

Whether a system pays for itself in your hospital is something we work out in the discovery workshop, using your routes, volumes and times. We deliberately do not quote a blanket payback period.

Functions

High throughput at peak times as well, with no bottlenecks and no waiting

Extension modules

AUS (Auto Unload System): unloads the arriving carrier onto the lab bench by itself
AirLab: single-tube transport for samples that should not share a carrier
Drone link: handover from the landing pad straight into the tube system (being trialled)
Further lines and stations: a single route grows into a multi-line system

Sizing

The manufacturer sizes from about 200 beds (a technical figure, not a threshold for paying off)
Whether a system pays for itself depends on the routes, not on the number of beds: as a rule of thumb, a walking time above 15 minutes.

Technical specification

Braking: Pneumatic (counter-pressure air)
Operation: 24/7, fully automatic

AUS – Auto Unload System

The AUS receives arriving carriers, opens the lid automatically and unloads the samples onto the lab bench.

Manufacturer infoto follow

opens the lid, unloads the samples: automatic
required: tube system

AirLab

AirLab moves single tubes fully separated, with no shared container and no risk of contamination between samples.

Manufacturer infoto follow

each tube on its own, no shared container: individually
each tube separately: traceable
built into the tube system infrastructure: Aerocom

Every tube is moved individually and traceably, so speed and sample protection no longer work against each other. Comparable in concept to the Sarstedt Tempus600, but integrated into the Aerocom infrastructure.

Where it fits best

Microbiology and immunology, where keeping samples separate is critical
STAT and special samples with the highest quality requirements
Alongside the tube system for particular sample categories

Drone transport

Drone meets tube system: sample transport across traffic and distance (being trialled)

Drones bridge distance and traffic, and the tube system takes the last mile inside the building: the drone lands by itself at the Drone Cargo Port, the shipment is handed over automatically into the Aerocom tube system and carried straight to the lab.

Manufacturer infoto followRegister interest in the pilot

Not a purchase but a pilot: we are looking for partner hospitals for joint drone pilot projects (Helicus × Aerocom). Sources: aerocom.co.uk case study · helicus.com.

transport time in the pilot: 45 → 15 min
drone flight, then tube system to the lab: 26 km
certified, with the aviation authority: LUC
not yet a product you can buy: in trial

In the project run by Helicus and Aerocom at Jan Yperman Ziekenhuis (Belgium), transport time fell from around 45 minutes by car to about 15 minutes, with sample quality demonstrably unchanged. Not a product you can buy yet: we are bringing this into everyday lab work together with pilot partners.

What we are looking for pilot partners for

Inter-hospital transport between sites and hospital groups
Emergency and STAT samples over routes prone to congestion
Oncology, pathology and decentralised diagnostics
Drone Cargo Port → automatic handover into the Aerocom tube system → lab
An energy-efficient alternative to courier journeys

Status and maturity

The world's first Drone Cargo Port, at Jan Yperman Ziekenhuis (Helicus · Avercon · Siemens)
Clinical validation study passed with no significant difference in quality
Certified under a Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC), regulated with the aviation authority
Transport time around 45 → 15 min in the pilot (26 km drone flight plus tube system into the lab)

Your savings in figures

What this means for your lab.

02 · Sample Transport– savings per year

€16,888

7 % of €235,685−55.1 min per sample

Example figuresPrivate lab3,000 samples/day€21 per hour

Start the Quick-Check (2 min)

This is not a sample calculation. It uses the values you have set above. Change a slider, and the calculation changes with it. A dot next to each figure shows where it comes from, and a mark shows where it can be changed. The explanation and the source are behind the.

Behind these items there are 12 figures. 2 of them are your own inputs from the Quick-Check. 10 are set to your lab in the Discovery meeting. The calculation path stays the same – only the factors become yours.

Where the figure comes from

Your inputStudy / evidenceFigure from experienceIntermediate result

Where it can be changed

underlinedby you, in the Quick-Checkin the Discovery meeting

Bulk delivery without unpackingTriCollectassumption

Collection boxes are tipped straight into the sorter, so taking each sample out of its bag and the single-use bag per order drop out.

€12,622 per year

Time (unpacking):samples per day×60%share via TriCollect×2.76 s/sampleunpacking saved×staff cost per hour×250 daysworking days per year×50%really cashable+Material (bag):1,000 orders/dayorders per day×60%share via TriCollect×€0.06/orderdisposable bag saved×250 daysworking days per year=€12,622

Automatic deliveryAerocom AirLabassumption

The driver feeds the samples straight into the automation, so nobody has to walk to goods receiving to take them over.

€4,266 per year

2.5 min/deliverytrip time avoided×39 deliveries/daydeliveries per day×250 daysworking days per year×staff cost per hour×50%really cashable=€4,266

2 more items apply only to the other type of lab and are hidden for private labs.

Time saved (TAT) · −55.1 min per sample

Extra collection where it fitsSmart route managementassumption

The routing software reports where samples are ready and sends a nearby driver for an extra collection if it fits into the round – for example at 9 in addition to the collection at 11. The sample waits less time at the doctor’s.

−54.9 min

80%delivered samples×68.6 minshorter waiting time at the referrer=54.9 min per sample

Two clocks: This is solely the time the sample spends at the referrer. It is never converted into money. Whether the round becomes cheaper as a result depends on the timetable and is shown as a note in route planning, not in the total.

Faster emergency transportAerocom AirLabplausible

Urgent samples reach the lab faster by pneumatic tube than on foot.

−0.2 min

2%STAT share×10 mintime saved per STAT sample=0.2 min per sample

The time saved is an average across all samples (not per affected sample) and is deliberately NOT converted into money (money and time are kept separate).

Sources & methodology →

Where the savings come from: straight to the calculatorAll savings on the home page

01Identification€44,634−0.1 min

02Transport€16,888−55.1 min

03Orders€121,794−10.6 min

04Sorting€52,369−0.5 min

Ecosystem€235,685Σ all areas

From an estimate to your own figure.

Real value for you – or an honest no.

Questions and answers How a project runs

cr@labsentinels.com Save your result

Integration & IT

What your IT needs to know before the route is planned.

A tube system is building services first and a data topic second. And on the data topic we are more candid than is good for a product page: the handover into sorting is physical today, and there is no connection to the LIS yet.

For lab IT and building services: connection, plant technology, project effort

Connection

Physically connected, not yet connected for data.

At the destination, automatic unloading passes the sample straight on without anyone stepping in. For data, the tube system and AUS are not connected, and that is not planned either. A link is planned for AirLab: via STIWA LabConnect and then LabFlow, using ASTM, which would bring real-time status messages into the lab. It has not been built yet. It says so here because lab IT needs to know the difference between planned and built before it plans.

Direct handover from the AUS into the T&O ATRAS R4, with no manual step in between
Or unloading into the bulk input of an existing automation line
The empty carrier returns by transponder, with nobody operating it
Track & trace of shipments within the system
Carrier formats AD 110 / AD 160
Planned for AirLab: a link via LabConnect and then LabFlow using ASTM, including real-time status messages

Architecture

The control sits in the system, not in your LIS.

The tube system brings its own Linux-based control software, including graphical statistics on the shipments it has carried. Your LIS is untouched by it. The transport data lives in the system.

Linux-based control software with graphical statistics
Multi-line systems for complex buildings, sized per site
Transport speed adjustable per sample type (a setting, not a factory default)

In the project

What is coming your IT's way.

The lion's share of the planning is construction and routing. For the tube system and AUS, what remains for your IT is essentially the system PC. How long a retrofit takes in a running hospital is something we answer in the questions and answers using public tender documents rather than a rule of thumb. Once the LIS connection is on the table, your IT sits in the discovery workshop before any decisions are made.

How long does a retrofit take?

Bring your IT to the discovery workshop, and we settle interface questions in the same meeting.

Connection

Physically connected, not yet connected for data.

Direct handover from the AUS into the T&O ATRAS R4, with no manual step in between
Or unloading into the bulk input of an existing automation line
The empty carrier returns by transponder, with nobody operating it
Track & trace of shipments within the system
Carrier formats AD 110 / AD 160
Planned for AirLab: a link via LabConnect and then LabFlow using ASTM, including real-time status messages

Architecture

The control sits in the system, not in your LIS.

The tube system brings its own Linux-based control software, including graphical statistics on the shipments it has carried. Your LIS is untouched by it. The transport data lives in the system.