The Search Page

The search page is the public-facing part of Labstronaut — it's what users see when they visit the website. Think of it like a search engine, but specifically for laboratory tests. When a user searches for a test, Labstronaut shows them which labs offer it, along with all the information they need to make a referral.

You can search by the full test name, an abbreviation, or a synonym — for example, searching "HbA1c" will find the same results as searching "Glycated Haemoglobin". This is because Labstronaut links tests by their synonyms behind the scenes. Read more about how this works →

Each result card has an Add to referral button. You can add multiple tests from different labs, then click Download Referral Sheet to get a spreadsheet with all the information in one place — useful for printing or attaching to a referral. This is covered in more detail in the Tools → Referral Builder guide.

My Lab

The My Lab section is where you manage everything about your lab on Labstronaut. Think of it as your lab's control panel. It has five areas: Mission Control, Messages, My Tests, Upload & Sync, and Notifications.

Mission Control is your dashboard — a summary of how your lab is performing on the platform. Here's what each number means:

You can send and receive messages with other labs on the platform — useful for asking about unusual sample requirements or discussing shared patients. Messages are private between labs. You'll see a red badge on the Messages button when you have unread messages.

My Tests shows all the tests your lab currently has listed, organised by department. Click the department tabs at the top to switch between departments.

This is how you add or update your tests on Labstronaut. You upload a spreadsheet, and Labstronaut compares it against what you currently have listed and makes the necessary changes.

Set up who in your lab receives email notifications when someone sends you a message on Labstronaut, or when your tests are updated. You can add multiple email addresses — useful if more than one person manages the lab's Labstronaut account.

Tools

The Tools section contains features designed to help you get more out of Labstronaut — both for promoting your lab and for building referrals.

Boost lets you promote one test to the top of every search result on Labstronaut. When a user searches for that test, your lab's result will always appear first — regardless of location.

The Referral Builder lets you search for tests across all labs and download a single spreadsheet containing the referral details for everything you need. It's designed for users building a referral pack, but your lab can use it too — for example, to check what information other labs are showing for tests you also offer.

How Tests Are Linked Together

One of the most important things Labstronaut does behind the scenes is make sure that the same test — even if different labs call it different things — is treated as the same test in the search results. This section explains how that works.

Lab A might call a test "HbA1c". Lab B calls it "Glycated Haemoglobin". Lab C calls it "Haemoglobin A1c". Without any linking, a user searching for "HbA1c" would only see Lab A's result — even though Labs B and C offer the same test.

Labstronaut has a global test catalogue — a single master list of test names. Each test in the catalogue can have synonyms: alternative names, abbreviations, and acronyms that all point to the same test. When a user searches, Labstronaut checks the test name and all its synonyms.

When you upload your tests, Labstronaut tries to match each test name in your spreadsheet against the existing catalogue. It does this in several steps, from most precise to least:

The Synonyms column in your spreadsheet is one of the most powerful things you can fill in. The more synonyms you add, the more searches will find your test. For example, for Homocysteine you might add:

Separate synonyms with commas. Include abbreviations, full names, and any alternative spellings you know users use.

The fuzzy matching is designed to be helpful, but it's not perfect. If a test in your spreadsheet matches something it shouldn't — for example "Homocystine (Free)" being matched to "Homocysteine (Total)" — the sync log will tell you what happened with an ℹ message. If you spot an incorrect match, contact the Labstronaut admin and we can correct it manually.