May 2021

42 n MEDICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL May 2021 www.drivesncontrols.com Automation helps to meet soaring demand for Covid test kits T he German medical technology company Senova develops and manufactures rapid test systems for marking biomarkers, viruses and microorganisms. It specialises in lateral flow assay (LFA) technology, and its most recent – and best-known – product is a rapid Covid-19 antibody test that analyses blood samples to tell whether someone is currently infected with the virus, or is already immune. It takes less than 10 minutes to perform the test. The test, which was developed by an international research team, including the Jena Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies, can check whether personnel such as nurses, doctors or carers, are immune to the virus. The researchers developed the tests and confirmed their effectiveness in collaboration with Chinese partners and a medical device distributor, Servoprax. There are two types of antibody: IgM antibodies, which are found in the blood a few days after infection; and IgG antibodies, which are formed during an infection and can remain detectable for months, indicating an existing immunity. Senova brought the first rapid coronavirus antibody test to the market in record time. But the original manual method for producing and packaging the kits was unable to keep up with the ever-increasing demand. The company needed a more flexible, faster and more reliable way of manufacturing the kits in tight timescales. Automating the process would ease the pressure by streamlining the various work steps, such as cutting test strips and packaging the kits. But the new design would need to implemented rapidly to cope with the demand and help contain the spread of the virus. Senova worked with the German machine- builder Kraus Maschinenbau and robotics experts from Omron to develop machines to produce the kits.“Senova asked how the feeding of the packaging pouches could be Over the past six months, a group of German-based companies have collaborated to develop and build machines that automate the production of Covid-19 test kits. The machines, which incorporate several types of robot, have replaced earlier manual processes, delivering much faster throughputs to keep up with the mushrooming demand for the kits. An array of pick-and-place delta robots have helped Senova to implement a more flexible, faster and more reliable way of manufacturing and packaging the test kits, to a tight timescale.