A Chinese company says they have developed an automatic robot that can perform Covid-19 testing with unparalleled speed and performance.
The robot, which made its debut at the Globe Robot Conference 2022 in Beijing upon Thursday, looks like a vending machine and offers accurate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results without the need to get a laboratory.
The particular robot, developed by Chinese language firm BioTeke, can provide results for up to 80 users in forty five minutes – much faster than traditional methods. It may process samples from up to 320 people at a time.
Additional Covid-19 test automated programs on the market, but most of them focus on the sampling process, with robots standing in for on-site staff to collect mouth swab samples. The samples are then sent to a lab for analysis, also it usually takes more than 12 hours for customers to get their outcomes.
“This new robot provides an one-stop alternative because it does testing independently, ” said a BioTeke engineer surnamed Meng in an interview on Monday.
The robot contains various modules for sample, extraction, purification, exorbitance, detection and result analysis, all of which are connected like the rows of a vending machine.
The sampling module was developed by BioTeke in cooperation with a research center at Tsinghua University’s Institute for Synthetic Intelligence .
“Researchers built models of human lips and developed an image recognition algorithm for the high-accuracy mechanical equip. The arm can move autonomously and gently collect dental swab samples from the user’s throat, ” Meng said .
After collection, the nucleic acid in the test requires purification plus amplification to produce a result. To achieve that, the particular robot imitates the particular laboratory process, with a mechanical arm moving the sample tubes around. When the tube reaches the evaluation module, the result will be recorded and the waste materials is disposed of.
Meng said the particular robot’s modular design made it easy to fix and maintain components plus refill the reagents used for testing.
The robot is also competitive in cost. “It cuts labour and sample shipping costs, and there exists a mature market for your reagent packages needed, ” said Meng.
BioTeke can be seeking government assistance to put the automated programs into widespread make use of, as Covid-19 test results are linked to sensitive personal information such as IDENTIFICATION cards and telephone numbers.
“We possess licences for some from the modules inside, and the robot is going through verification by the National Medical Products Management, ” Meng stated.
The programs could be especially useful in airports, train channels and entrances associated with neighbourhoods that require quick Covid-19 test results.
“At this stage, epidemic avoidance work mainly focuses on the mass verification of the population. The particular robot can serve as an affordable rapid screening method. We can recognise positive carriers before these people start spreading the virus in the city to effectively avoid the spread of the epidemic, ” Meng said.
Once deployed in scale, the robot will greatly relieve the pressure on medical staff in China, who have been confused by routine Covid-19 screening, he additional. – South Cina Morning Post