Clinical laboratories will increasingly turn to lab automation systems as they deal with a growing demand for diagnostic tests, reductions in reimbursement rates and a diminishing labor pool.

That's the assessment from life sciences research firm Kalorama Information in the new report Lab Automation Markets Worldwide. The report analyzes the current and potential world markets for medical laboratory automation systems and equipment - both for the clinical diagnostics lab and the drug discovery and research lab.

Kalorama predicts manufacturers can expect growth rates of 6 percent to 9 percent annually in the lab automation market over the next few years, and those systems that are open and can connect to competing platforms will do best.

"Openness is a virtue for lab automation systems," said Bruce Carlson, Kalorama's publisher. "If you are non-proprietary, scalable and can connect to competing instrument platforms, while offering more testing options, you'll gain a disproportionate share of the market."

Carlson said new technologies based on manufacturing automation have been transforming hospital clinical laboratories and corporate drug development laboratories ever since the Japanese introduced lab robotics and automation in the early 1980s.

Ever since, pressure to do more with less has pushed manufacturers to develop ever larger and more costly systems. This approach was not too effective, the report claims, and manufacturers are approaching the limits of improvements on current technologies.

Kalorama analysts believe that, with increasing demand for more intensive data gathering and comparison - such as for genomics and other advanced studies - technology will continue to rely on automated systems. However, Carlson says the next generation of analyzers must address the size issues by adopting emerging microtechnologies, such as microfluidics, that will make it possible to create consumables that are much smaller per test unit.

Labs are looking for flexibility in their automation solutions as the complexity and cost of automation increase, the report notes. Smaller flexible systems could offer a choice of powerful, targeted solutions that provide the greatest advantages without the huge investment that large complete automation systems require.

"Equipment makers can't be all things to all labs," said Carlson. "Companies that offer cost-effective open systems will do better with labs that can't afford total automation."