Here are some of the essential equipment your lab will need to get started.

Working in a medical lab is a far cry from working in most other places. Sanitation becomes extremely important and the equipment becomes integral to your daily success. Starting up a medical lab takes a lot of effort because of the intense amount of care you must take in acquiring everything you need to be safe and efficient. Here’s some of the essential equipment to have in a medical lab.

Medical Refrigerator/Freezer

For almost every medical lab, a refrigerator and freezer are absolute necessities. Whether it’s ensuring that samples stay cold enough or keeping vaccines safe, a proper refrigerator and freezer are a must. These can’t be your standard, run-of-the-mill freezers; numerous restrictions and regulations will determine the kind of freezer you must choose for your specific lab. While usually a large expense, you don’t want to cheap out on a quality freezer or refrigerator.

Autoclave

As we mentioned before, keeping things sterile and sanitary in a medical lab is of the utmost importance. That’s why part of the essential equipment to have in a medical lab is an autoclave. Autoclaves use pressure and steam to sterilize certain instruments and receptacles. If your lab has anything to do with infectious bacteria or viruses, you’ll need an autoclave to ensure that your tools are thoroughly sterilized. 

Personal Protective Equipment

There’s no denying that a medical lab can be a dangerous place to work. Microbes and dangerous equipment are everywhere in a medical lab, and you must take the proper precautions to make sure everyone is safe while they work. Personal protective equipment should be a standard in the lab, as well as emergency stations. Safety goggles, face masks, lab coats, eyewash stations, and emergency shower stations must be in every medical lab.

Incubators

Samples of tissue or certain cells need to be able to develop in environments without any foreign contaminants. That’s where your incubators come in handy. Commonly used for things such as bacteria cultures, incubators provide samples with a place that’s free of outside contaminants. They also allow the technician to control the environment surrounding the samples in a safe way.

Glassware

While it may seem obvious, glassware is exceedingly important to medical labs. The properties of glass as non-reactive make it an excellent material for holding things such as delicate liquids, cultures, or tissue. Glass also provides visual information at a glance, rather than needing to open anything up and risk contamination or further spread of microbes.