Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
detection antibody. Prior to detection, a last washing step is performed to remove
any unbound detection antibody. This process, including in total seven different
steps has an assay time of about 15 min.
2.6 Production
As one of the key aspects of the design its production in terms of serial production
was considered. With this in mind, the materials used for the cartridge design were
chosen to be easily available in large number, i.e., PTB as the base layer, an
injection molded part as the last layer and in-between a layer with different tapes
and membranes. Although these parts can be supplied by different companies their
assembly is a process to be defined and designed in an appropriate production line.
Owing to the need for a high modularity of the cartridge also the production line
has to have certain degrees of freedom to serve production requirements. For
example, depending on the application either electrochemical or optical sensors
have to be introduced into the cartridge or different assays will require various
surface modifications. Hence, also the concept of the production and assembly line
was designed to be modular.
In this way, the concept was to have different stand-alone units in which spe-
cific steps such as assembly, filling or coating are performed. These modules are
connected via a conveyor belt with a piece carrier on which the cartridges are
located. Hence, a modular assembly can be performed for every cartridge.
Besides the modularity of the system which matches the requirements of dif-
ferent cartridges the advantage is that in an implementation phase a hybrid
approach using automated as well as manufacturing steps can be chosen. In this
way, in early stages costs can be decreased and the details of every production step
can be learned and investigated.
3 Summary and Further Developments
The described Fraunhofer ivD-platform was developed to provide a modular
system which can be adapted to different application areas and match their special
requirements. Within this chapter its use for immunoassays was described. Nev-
ertheless, on-going research targets DNA-preparation, purification, and amplifi-
cation. In this way, the ivD-platform could be used as a general platform for
routine diagnostics in many areas such as emergency units, hospitals, or even in
the physician's office.
From a more technical point of view, the ivD-platform is a great example that a
combination of different technologies (covered by the seven Fraunhofer institutes
involved in this project) can give added value in terms of highly innovative
