In the Technicon AutoAnalyzer® air, sample and reagents are aspirated by a peristaltic pump
and propelled trough a mixing coil, with aim to provide sufficient reaction time to achieve
mixing and chemical equilibrium, within the individual segments of liquid, before the
debubled stream passed trough a colorimeter.
For almost quarter of century the AutoAnalyzer became a workhorse of clinical laboratories worldwide, as it became accepted that the only practical way to carry out flow analysis is to use air segmentation. Much has change since then, yet, updated version of Skeggs ingenious design are still marketed by Astoria Pacific, Seal Instruments, and OI Analytical, for the purpose of environmental and oceanographic research.