Tsinghua University and Tsingke+ Institute Developed a Swab Sampling Robot for 20-in-1 PCR Screening

The spread of COVID-19 has brought a huge impact on the whole world and on our normal life. PCR testing is currently the “gold standard” for diagnosing COVID-19 cases and one of the most important means of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. However, swab sampling before PCR testing currently mainly relies on medical staff and manual operation, often facing serious problems such as insufficient personnel capacity and high-intensity work. In addition, medical staff needs to collect probes at close range during the collection process. In order to prevent cross-infection, a full set of protective equipment must be worn. The increase of labor intensity also affects the standardization of the operation, so that the overall sampling efficiency and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

To solve the above problems, the Advanced Mechanism and Roboticized Equipment Lab from Tsinghua University and Yantai Tsingke+ Robotics Joint Research Institute Co., Ltd. jointly developed a throat swab sampling robot that is aimed at automatic swab sampling for large-scale 10-in-1 and 20-in-1 mixed PCR screening. Taking place of medical staff to complete throat swab sampling, virus collection tube recovery, virus disinfection and other functions, the sampling efficiency is as high as 42 seconds per person, and the sampling efficiency is 100%, providing a strong guarantee for scientifically and effectively responding to the risk of the spread of the COVID epidemic. It is worth noting that the robotic arm used in the swab sampling robot was designed and developed by Tsinghua University and Yantai Tsingke+ Institute with 22 patents filed.