Editor's Note: In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology , Paul Bourbeau and Nate Ledeboer provide an informed review of an exciting new concept in clinical microbiology, the use of instrumentation to automate the front-end processing and workup of specimens submitted to a laboratory for analysis. The potential value of such instrumentation includes the possibility of substantial cost savings, standardization of initial specimen processing, more rapid and consistent provision of both identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test results, and a diminished risk for laboratory-acquired infections. However, as with any new diagnostic modality in clinical microbiology, there now exists a pressing need for investigations aimed at elucidating the performance characteristics of this new technology. Going forward, it will be imperative that laboratorians assess this new technology in objective, comparative, and preferably prospective clinical studies. Such studies will be necessary to define the true, rather than perceived or hoped-for, value of front-end and total laboratory automation in clinical microbiology. The
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