Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) knows no age, but with a growing average age of personnel in the clinical laboratory, the problem continues to compound (MLO ’18).  In 2004, the average age of a certified medical technologist was 43.7 and was aging at a 78 percent faster rate than the entire U.S. labor market.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention; regarding manual removal of sealed caps, “Several manufacturers market safety devices to help remove caps from tubes; e.g. the Pluggo from LGP, Wood River, IL.

A single employee unable to work due to RSI such as Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) can result in the disbursement of thousands of dollars in worker’s compensation. One cause for CTS is the repetitive motion of decapping sample tubes.

We have been using our Pluggo for years and have had no issues with it! It decaps hundreds of tubes daily for us and is a fabulous piece of equipment!