#insights

Urine samples remain one of the most common specimens to be tested in clinical microbiology laboratories. At the same time, they represent a significant operational challenge: high volumes of samples, a large proportion of negative results, and the need for timely and reliable diagnosis.

AIPLAK, Sener’s intelligent incubator, provides precise and controlled incubation and automatically digitalizes the plates, delivering immediate benefits such as traceability, reproducibility, and workflow efficiency. 

The Challenge: High Volume, Low Positivity

In routine clinical practice, a substantial portion of urine samples shows no clinically significant growth. Despite this, laboratories must still efficiently process and validate all samples, which can impact turnaround times and resource allocation.

The key question is clear: how can laboratories identify negative and positive samples reliably and efficiently while maintaining diagnostic safety?

The Solution: Intelligent Segregation with Urine Segregation AI Module

AIPLAK addresses this challenge by combining precise incubation, high-resolution digital imaging, and optional AI-driven analysis. After incubation, the Urine AI Module automatically segregates samples into two distinct categories—growth detected and no growth detected—creating a prioritized digital workflow.

All samples remain available for technician review; however, those previously segregated as growth-positive are prioritized, allowing the technician to accelerate analysis and, when appropriate, exclude the remaining samples from further processing based on professional judgment.

How the Urine AI Module Works

1. Standardized incubation with AIPLAK
   Urine samples are incubated under highly controlled, repeatable conditions, ensuring consistent and reliable results.
2. Automated digital imaging
   Plates are captured by the primary imaging system at the end of the incubation period, allowing multiple images to be taken using different illumination systems, providing objective and reproducible data for analysis.
3. AI-driven segregation
   Using image analysis and validated criteria, the Urine AI module classifies each plate into growth or no-growth categories, supporting an efficient and intuitive workflow.
4. Technician review and decision-making
   The technician maintains full control over the final assessment, reviewing all samples while prioritizing those flagged as growth-positive by the AI, ensuring diagnostic safety and clinical confidence.
5. Automated organization of positive samples
   Samples identified as positive are automatically organized into dedicated output carousels according to the next steps, facilitating downstream handling for confirmation, colony picking, identification, or further testing, and optimizing post-incubation workflows.

Benefits for Laboratory Technicians

• Prioritized review of relevant samples – growth-positive plates are highlighted first.
• Faster analysis and decision-making – time is focused where it adds the most value.
• Reduced workload from negative samples – low-risk plates can be excluded when appropriate.
• Clear, structured digital workflow – segregation and physical organization simplify daily operations.

Faster Diagnostics, Better Outcomes

By prioritizing samples with detected growth after full incubation and organizing positives for downstream processing, laboratories can accelerate reporting, reduce backlogs, and allocate technical expertise more efficiently. This directly supports faster clinical decisions and improved antibiotic stewardship.

 Safety and Reliability

Diagnostic safety is a non-negotiable priority. The Urine AI module is validated using conservative criteria, and all images remain fully traceable. Any ambiguous result is automatically highlighted for technician review, ensuring that automation always supports—never replaces—professional judgment.

Towards Smarter Laboratories

 AIPLAK is more than an incubator—it is a platform for intelligent microbiology. By combining incubation, digitalization, AI-driven urine segregation, and automated output organization, laboratories can optimize efficiency, improve consistency, and manage increasing workloads without compromising quality.

With AIPLAK, Sener brings automation and intelligence together in a single platform. By enabling AI-based urine segregation, prioritized technical review, and organized output of positive samples, AIPLAK helps laboratories work faster, focus on clinically relevant cases, and deliver timely, reliable diagnostic results.

In a context of growing demand and limited resources, AIPLAK and its AI modules demonstrate how smart technology can meaningfully support laboratory professionals and improve patient care.