Fan Cheng Medical robot manufacturer Bright Machines has developed COVID-19 automatic inspection
Published on:2020-04-22
Accurate, safe and fast detection of COVID-19 is critical to the control of the spread of the virus. However, the United States still faces many obstacles, including the shortage of testing and the long waiting time, partly because most of the tests are done manually. Moreover, this process increases the risk of virus infection for laboratory technicians.
In order to speed up the testing process and protect laboratory staff, bright machines, a software and robotics company, is leading the development of a robotic system that can process covid-19 test samples with little human participation. The company said that the automation of laboratory testing process can also realize all-weather testing, greatly increasing the amount of testing completed every day.
Bright machines, in cooperation with ichilov hospital laboratory, impact laboratory and icobots in Tel Aviv, has built a robot unit, a double conveyor belt, a manipulator and a vision system using the standard components of bright machines. The robot is programmed to open test tubes of different sizes and take samples from the patient test tubes into the control tube. The vision system verifies the performance throughout the process.
The machine will soon be moved to the laboratory of iqilov hospital. Once installed, it may take a few weeks to be fully operational. It will provide the system free of charge for up to 12 months. He added that some testing institutions around the world have also contacted the company for the solution.
The developer said that the project really highlights the importance of automation in general manufacturing industry, especially in the medical field. Redundant and high-risk manual labor is removed, and the robot will not feel tired or make mistakes. The test laboratory can work 24 hours a day.
Bright machines also works with the testing manufacturer diagnostics for the real world to automatically assemble HIV testing kits for its platform. Through the micro factory, the diagnostic company plans to shorten the test kit assembly time from two minutes to 20 seconds and increase the total output from 100000 kits to 1 million kits per year.
In order to speed up the testing process and protect laboratory staff, bright machines, a software and robotics company, is leading the development of a robotic system that can process covid-19 test samples with little human participation. The company said that the automation of laboratory testing process can also realize all-weather testing, greatly increasing the amount of testing completed every day.
Bright machines, in cooperation with ichilov hospital laboratory, impact laboratory and icobots in Tel Aviv, has built a robot unit, a double conveyor belt, a manipulator and a vision system using the standard components of bright machines. The robot is programmed to open test tubes of different sizes and take samples from the patient test tubes into the control tube. The vision system verifies the performance throughout the process.
The machine will soon be moved to the laboratory of iqilov hospital. Once installed, it may take a few weeks to be fully operational. It will provide the system free of charge for up to 12 months. He added that some testing institutions around the world have also contacted the company for the solution.
The developer said that the project really highlights the importance of automation in general manufacturing industry, especially in the medical field. Redundant and high-risk manual labor is removed, and the robot will not feel tired or make mistakes. The test laboratory can work 24 hours a day.
Bright machines also works with the testing manufacturer diagnostics for the real world to automatically assemble HIV testing kits for its platform. Through the micro factory, the diagnostic company plans to shorten the test kit assembly time from two minutes to 20 seconds and increase the total output from 100000 kits to 1 million kits per year.
