Epic Lanka donates fully automated PCR testing system to Colombo East Base Hospital

Epic Lanka, a pioneer in Fintech and digital transformation, recently developed a state-of-the-art solution for Colombo East Base Hospital (CEBH) in Mulleriyawa to automate the PCR testing and reporting process of COVID-19 patients.

The company said in a media release that the current process was inefficient to keep up with the increasing volumes of samples to be tested, mainly due to the significant manual effort required to carry out testing. Identifying this need at a time of national distress, Epic Lanka took on the challenge of developing an automated PCR testing system to tackle these issues. It aims to increase the accuracy of the results by minimising errors associated with the transfer of samples and increase efficiency by reducing manual work whilst also being easily adoptable through minimal staff training. With domain expertise assimilated for over two decades, Epic saw the need to digitally transform the entire PCR testing process as the solution to overcome the challenges and make it error free. This voluntary project was a joint effort between the experienced software engineers at Epic and the senior medical staff at CEBH.

The automated PCR testing system developed on behalf of CEBH consists of a main database deployed in a central server which can be accessed by all nodes. The system has been built to run with minimum hardware cost. As such, the system can be operated with a computer acting as the server running the database and the information system, connected through the Local Area Network (LAN) to at least two nodes. The system also features a search function to determine the current status or the test result. The respective officer has the option to search the generated plates by name, NIC number, lab number or serial number.

Commenting on this initiative, Managing Director/CEO of Epic Lanka, Viraj Mudalige said, “With this fully automated PCR testing system, the sampling process will be automated and streamlined to ensure faster and accurate results. Even though our roots are more deeply embedded in the Fintech domain, we took this project as a challenge to develop this solution for the healthcare sector at this time of need.”

CEBH Director Dr. Priyantha Karunarathne said, “The Special Molecular Laboratory of Colombo East Base Hospital Mulleriyawa has the potential to further increase its capacity. However, the lack of a comprehensive automated lab system was a big challenge for us. It creates more manual work for the staff and therefore takes more time to produce the test results. Thankfully, Epic Lanka and its staff volunteered to help CEBH and donated this much needed fully automated system. The creation of this system will address most of the issues related to report generation and will improve the timelines of issuing results.  I highly appreciate this magnanimous gesture by Epic, and they can be proud of their contribution towards combating this deadly pandemic.”