High-volume lyophilized bead handling and automation
AIR designs and builds custom manufacturing equipment for handling and dispensing lyophilized beads at 30-60 PPM, while ensuring they remain free of damage and contamination.
Capabilities
A decade of patented, industry-leading lyophilized bead handling
Lyophilized beads, or lyo beads, are small, fragile, low-mass beads used in medical diagnostics for early disease detection. Current methods of bead handling are unreliable and result in significant damage. AIR has developed a means to ‘singulate’ and dispense lyo beads into polymerase chain reaction (PCR) pockets and medical devices without gripping or shearing, i.e., without damage or contamination.
Approach
A proprietary, fast, low-damage lyo bead handling system
AIR’s proprietary system loads beads at a rate of 30-60 PPM, enables vision-based bead inspection for single or double-sided inspection prior to placement, and performs final inspection after bead placement. AIR offers three types of patent-pending device configurations that support early-stage to full-production ramp-up:
- Bench-top deviceProviding testing and validation of the process prior to automation. It delivers one or more beads of the same or different chemistries.
- Semi-automated deviceThis freestanding system automatically dispenses multiple beads into a PCR tray or your device. It best supports product ramp-up and clinical trials.
- High-speed automationBuilt to support high-volume production, it includes all assembly steps needed to complete the device. The singulator can also be integrated into existing automation systems.
Impact
Better manufacturing for better diagnostic outcomes
By avoiding damage and contamination during manufacturing, AIR’s system ensures better diagnostic test outcomes, minimizing false and misleading diagnoses.
Case studies
A medical device diagnostic manufacturer needed to rapidly replicate an in-house designed manufacturing tool to support a production ramp-up. The tool included multiple control systems and needed to be…
Developing new metrology or inspection technologies for an advanced semiconductor fab is a very complex endeavor requiring specialized knowledge and significant capital expense. A European startup needed…
The customer needed a 30% reduction in tool cost while implementing improvements in process technology. The effort had to be low-risk, ensuring no process-critical components were affected, and the first…