Design and development of a low cost cartesiancoordinatebased robotic dispensing system for biomedical applications

Project Title

Design and development of a low cost cartesiancoordinatebased robotic dispensing system for biomedical applications

Project Area of Specialization RoboticsProject Summary

the project will give a final product as a deliverable which will be used for testing in laboratories. the product will be the first of its kind that is manufactured in Pakistan. it is based on low cost cartesian coordinate system and employs concepts of control systems for operation. it is a hybrid between hardware and software system. the product (gantry system) will be fully automated using sensors and discovery boards.

Project Objectives

Pakistan in under equipped for mass PCR testing.The import of automated sample preparation machines causes a financial burden on our health sector, with many institutes being unable to pay for them.It will allow for mass adoption of these machines  by various entities, and increase the throughput of testing in our medical laboratories,research groups, and hospitals.

The main objective is to create  highly cost-competitive a multi purpose test bench, with robotics to have a fully automated Nucleic Acid Extraction system.Pakistan has already delved into creating an industry for medical equipment. This product is designed to be simple enough to be easily assembled and mass produced in our home country.

As the Covid-19 pandemic is still gripping the world, the need of these kinds of medical equipment has increased around the globe.The product is supposed to alleviate some of that pressure and make testing more manageable.And of course the product is not designed on the hype of Covid-testing, it is a modular design which can be used for a variety of tests(Sars,hepatitis etc.) so it still has value even after Covid-19 is under control.

Project Implementation Method

The project would be guided by the design philosophy of products that already occupt this space. The design would have to be made while taking the specific challenges of Pakistan into account.

The inital prototype of theproduct would be shared with biotech scientific international(ltd) to further develop the product.NUST has a biotech school(ASAB), whose input would be taken into consideration while making the final market ready product.

After the product has  gone through the iterative phase, it shall be showcased to various medical companies and hospitals  for adoption.If the recoption of the product is particularly warm, steps can be taken to make it export ready,for other markets

Benefits of the Project

It is needed by hospitals, testing labs, medical centers, scientific medical research institutions and local health and testing centers. It will greatly increase the output and speed of processing and testing with large quantities of PCR samples. The project will be particularly helpful to make it cheaper for medium and small hospitals and laboratories so the general public will be the ultimate beneficiary for having cheap affordable tests and better health facilities. Medical health workers will benefit as there will be no human contact with samples. Samples will not come in contact before, during or after the testing process.

It has definite potential for adoption. Currently it is present in limited places, due to its higher cost because it is being imported from foreign high-tech companies. Since our product is to be a much more cost-effective and indigenous, it is more likely to be adopted by labs and hospitals. Furthermore, its after sale support will be much easier and cheaper making it an obvious choice for customers. Since it not restricted to covid sample, preparation, it can be used for variety of different medical tests, allowing it to have a sustained demand as an important lab equipment that saves time and money.

As far as we know, currently all our competitors are foreign medical instrument manufacturers having Chinese, US, or European origin with local suppliers. Our solution is specifically for the Pakistani market however, at later stage, its export as a low-cost solution can be explored. In international market, many countries look for low-cost alternatives to the high-tech medical equipment.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The product will require the samples to be put into it, in pallets with numbered test tubes. Users will select the type of test that is to be done via graphical interface. Then the gantry system (robotic arms?) will prepare the sample by performing a series of steps. For example, for Covid-19 sample preparation one needs:

    1.Reagent addition

    2.Nucleic acid absorption

    3.Washing while avoiding contamination

    4.Elution and transfer

All these processes will be automated closed system using robotic arm having stepper motors and gearing mechanism. The project will be in 3 major modules. Electrical module will include motors, controllers, sensors, switches, circuit boards etc. while Mechanical components module will include the drive mechanism, belts, gears, the test bench etc. while the user interface module will include HMI, PLC and software etc.

The medical equipment e.g micropipettes, biohazard/waste disposal bags, pipette pins,liquid containers,reagents,magnetic beads, etc will be readily available in the market. And the product will be designed in accordance to them.

The machine will have a footprint of 12.8 x 7.5 ft. The exterior body will be made of plastic to keep manufacturing costs minimum. The robotics system will be made from market items e.g stepper motors, robot arms, with liquid dispensing unit and carriage system will be proprietary. The "brain" of the prototype is a STMF32 discovery board. This will be used to code the various medical tests into the machine. The machine will have a 7in. touch screen for the GUI, and the person can select from the various tests to conduct, how many samples to process, etc.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry MedicalOther IndustriesCore Technology RoboticsOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	69300
! F# Discovery Kit	Equipment	2	5500	11000
Stepper Motor	Equipment	8	850	6800
Micropippette	Equipment	2	18000	36000
Pippette tip packs	Equipment	1	6500	6500
Wires	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Fabrication	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Stationery	Miscellaneous	0	8000	0