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Ferrobotic swarms enable accessible and adaptable automated viral testing
Haisong Lin1, Wenzhuo Yu1, Kiarash A Sabet1
1Interconnected and Integrated Bioelectronics Lab (I²BL), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Nature
|November 9, 2022
Summary
This study introduces ferrobots, tiny magnetic robots, to automate pooled testing for infectious diseases. This innovation significantly reduces costs and enhances efficiency for global pandemic preparedness and future clinical diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Robotics
- Infectious Disease Diagnostics
Background:
- Global pandemic prevention requires scalable, accessible, and resource-efficient automated testing platforms.
- Current automated liquid handling technologies are bulky, expensive, and lack the adaptability for decentralized pooled testing based on local prevalence.
- Pooled testing strategies can be highly efficient but necessitate advanced automation for small sample handling and feedback mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an automated, adaptable, and resource-efficient platform for nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) in decentralized settings.
- To overcome limitations of existing liquid handling technologies for pooled testing.
- To demonstrate a novel approach for pandemic preparedness and future clinical laboratory automation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a swarm of millimetre-sized magnets as mobile robotic agents (ferrobots) for precise handling of magnetized sample droplets.
- Developed a palm-sized, printed circuit board-based programmable platform for laboratory-equivalent operations.
- Implemented a square matrix pooled testing algorithm to guide ferrobot operations and maximize testing efficiency.
Main Results:
- Successfully demonstrated laboratory-equivalent operations for pooled testing using ferrobots on a programmable platform.
- Applied the automated technology to loop-mediated isothermal amplification and detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples with perfect agreement to off-chip results.
- Achieved significant cost reductions: 10-300-fold in reagent costs and three orders of magnitude in instrumentation costs.
Conclusions:
- Ferrobot-based automated pooled testing offers a precise, robust, and flexible solution for NAATs.
- This technology is easily manufacturable, distributable, and promises substantial cost savings for viral testing.
- The platform represents a promising advancement for expanding global testing capacity and reimagining the future of automated clinical laboratories.
