Automated laboratory tests with robots by Yaskawa

The current situation shows: The health care system quickly reaches its limits when laboratory capacity is lacking or when the existing test installations cannot be converted flexibly enough for test variants or new, modified test procedures. In this situation, laboratory robots offer a valuable alternative to manual testing.

Robots have long been established in industry. But automation is also finding its way into laboratory environments. In research and development (pharmaceuticals, chemicals, life sciences and bio- and nuclear medicine), blood analysis or individual cosmetics production, robotic solutions have been successfully used for several years now. These solutions are so flexible and universal that they are also suitable for clinical infection tests. In addition to reducing the workload of laboratory personnel, the robot offers outstanding and recurring process stability and quality.
There are basically two possibilities for the robot-supported automation of a laboratory process:

a) Partial automation, in which the robot carries out recurring handling activities of the laboratory personnel and thus provides relief. The robot takes over handling tasks, the process control remains with the laboratory personnel or the analysis machine.

b) The complete automation of the test procedure, including sample preparation, pipetting, test execution, including the operation of all analysis devices by the robot. The robot takes over process control and handling tasks. The aim here is to build standard work cells that can be used as universally as possible, with a two-arm robot as the central element, which can be converted and flexibly reprogrammed to suit any laboratory equipment. A solution of this kind can carry out laboratory processes 24 hours a day autonomously and with maximum precision and repeatability.

How quickly can robot-based automation solutions be implemented?

In the case of partial automation, i.e. if the robot is to be retrofitted for handling purposes, this can be done very quickly with collaborative robots. In contrast, the design and new installation of a fully automated robotic cell takes several months. However, once such a standard robot cell is installed, the laboratory and analytical equipment in question is built around the robot, and if a library of movement patterns has grown and become available over time, “then such cells can be quickly and easily reprogrammed for new tasks,” says Thomas Goldfuss, Managing Director of Goldfuss Engineering, which has already implemented several laboratory cells with robots from Yaskawa for well-known customers.

The quick solution: Partial automation of handling tasks with collaborative robots

For short-term relief of the laboratory staff, a partial automation of handling tasks at existing manual test stations can help. The robot takes over recurring movements and thus relieves the qualified laboratory personnel. A collaborative robot that can be used in direct contact with humans and can do without a safety fence is ideal for this purpose.
One such robot is the MRK-capable Motoman HC10DT from Yaskawa. Two versions of the 6-axis robot are particularly suitable for use in the laboratory: the HC10DT IP67, which is designed to be both dust- and waterproof, and the hygienically designed HC10DTF, whose operating materials/gear greases have food approval.
With the Direct Teach (DT) method, the robot arm is simply guided from point to point in a motion sequence. Pre-assigned keys on the robot are used to determine whether a gripper is to be opened or closed at a particular position. This motion sequence is stored in a library, and the robot can repeat this sequence as often as required. This can also be done by an operator who is not a robot programming expert.

The fully automated robot workstation – with the CSDA10F two-arm laboratory robot

A robot specially developed for laboratory automation is the Motoman CSDA10F two-arm robot from Yaskawa. With its human-like stature and two arms that can perform both individual and synchronized movements, it is extremely versatile thanks to multifunctional tools and grippers. It works with almost any existing standard laboratory equipment and is able to handle conventional laboratory equipment as known from manual workstations: e.g. Petri dishes, hand pipettors, incubators or reaction vessels. Equipment suitable for automation, such as pipettors including expensive tips or microtiter plate stations, are helpful in terms of throughput improvement, but are not necessary.

The existing analytical equipment, together with its software connection, is taken over as it is, even if it has not actually been optimized for classic automation. For example, expensive liquid handling systems – with their expensive consumables – are not absolutely necessary, as the robot can take over this task directly. In its laboratory workstation, the robot can carry out a broad range of tasks that previously seemed to be reserved for humans, including the opening and closing of any reaction vessels (it does not always have to be microtitre plates), the pipetting and dosing of liquids or powders, the preparation of nutrient solutions with spatulas, the insertion and removal of samples, the opening, filling and closing of reaction vessels, and the operation of devices such as centrifuges, shakers or incubators. The CSDA10F is ideally suited for complex, standardized test procedures according to given protocols that were actually written for manual processing. The dual-arm robot CSDA10F is therefore also an interesting solution in process development, e.g. for defining, safeguarding and optimizing process steps before upscaling the throughput in a later production line. It is already in use in larger installations in Japan in biomedical synthesis (cancer drug development) and chemical analysis (sample preparation).

The CSDA10F is based on a robot that has already proven itself in industrial automation. In this new version, it has been specially designed to meet the hygiene requirements in the laboratory area, e.g. with a particularly substance-resistant paint, washable hygienic design, H2O2 sterilization and cleanroom suitability according to ISO 14644-1.

Thanks to its high flexibility, the innovative robot can be used in a wide range of applications – it can quickly and easily learn completely new work processes. Many characteristic movements (pipetting, opening/closing “Eppi”, handling microtiter plates, opening/closing incubators, opening/closing screw caps of bottles) have already been standardized and are stored as modules in a movement library according to requirements. The human/robot interface, for operation and visualization, can be realized via a PC or a touch panel. The HMI is either individualized or a connection to existing workflow scheduling software is made (e.g. SAMI-EX from Beckman Coulter). Once the motion programs are stored in the library, the operator does not need to be a robot expert; he simply composes and parameterizes the individual process steps of his desired sequence of operations.

Conclusion

Until now, classical automation in laboratories was often considered too inflexible and too bulky. But today, easy-to-operate robot models are available that are capable of performing a wide range of different laboratory tasks. They can perform tasks that are too dangerous for humans or too monotonous. This is because the use of robots guarantees exact reproducibility of the work results even when processing a large number of samples. However, laboratory automation not only saves time and money, especially at high throughput rates. Thanks to its unrivalled precision, it creates new conditions for research on starting substances whose production was previously not sufficiently reliable or reproducible.

For more information, please visit: https://www.yaskawa.eu.com/