The Moog Memmingen team recently provided SmartMotor™ technology to the development of a new SARS-CoV-2 rapid testing device. The team engineered a highly customized Moog Animatics SmartMotor™ servo, which is a key enabler for driving the testing automation.
Spindiag GmbH, a German medical technology start-up in Freiburg, Germany, is developing the new testing device. Originally designed as a rapid test for the detection of multidrug-resistant bacteria, the system was ready for analytical validation when the Coronavirus crisis started. The Spindiag team decided to extend the product pipeline, using the existing system to establish a rapid test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus first, due to the urgent need of testing capacities at the point of care.
Spindiag’s testing device can be used where samples are taken (e.g., in the emergency department of a hospital or at a dedicated laboratory). Swabs from the nose or throat are put into a disposable test cartridge that is placed in the analyzer. Test results are read directly from the device in about 30-40 minutes, enabling doctors to decide if quarantine is needed or not.
At the heart of the device is a compact centrifuge that powers the automation of the analysis inside the cartridge through centrifugal microfluidics. Each centrifuge contains one of our highly customized SmartMotorTM servos, which is crucial to meet the demanding design specifications for precise motion control.