SW Valley Times

By using robots to test multiple COVID-19 samples at once, Arizona State University's (ASU) Biodesign Institute is trying to increase the amount of available tests for the coronavirus. 

The university is using robots and drive-thru testing for the state's general public. Biodesign Institute Executive Director Joshua LaBaer said using robots can increase the testing rate. 

Health care officials don't have the resources available to conduct widespread testing for COVID-19, but the ASU thinks it could help provide essential service to the testing. 

"This is critical because if we’re going to be able to separate those with the infection from those that don’t have the infection we need to know who's infected," LaBaer said. "If we don't, then this thing is going to multiply exponentially, and then that's when the hospital systems will become overwhelmed and physicians will have to be making decisions as to who goes on ventilators and who doesn't. We don't want that to happen."

Testing for the virus is currently limited in the state as it is in much of the country because most sampling needs to be done by hand. ASU said it believes robots can help with the sampling process. 

"The goal will be to automate as much of this as we can to expedite it," LaBaer said.

The goal is to sample over 1,000 a day, but ASU plans to start with 400 samples a day. The university doesn't yet know how many samples would be tested per person, LaBaer said, but it will determine the pace of testing. 

Another challenge ASU must consider is materials like swabs, gloves, tubes and ingredients to stabilize COVID-19. 

"Hospitals can't find them," LaBaer said. "But we're a university, we can make them. We'll have to worry about the regulatory part later because it won't be approved and sealed and signed. But if they get the job done and if they save lives, that's what matters to me."

ASU's drive-thru testing will offer some advantages such as speed, LaBaer said. Individuals could be tested within 10 minutes. 

To set up the testing site, the university would need tents, supplies, tables, people and more. But the university would also need to fund the entire process. 

"ASU doesn’t have any way to bill insurance. We don’t know how to pay for this, but our primary concern is acting before it is too late. Hopefully the government will help us eventually," LaBaer said. "Obviously, you know, ASU has a foundation and there's always a need for support because none of this is easy or cheap."