SPOTLIGHT u Biotechnology
AGAMEDE revolutionises biotechnology and fights COVID-19
combines automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to form a unique ‘closed loop’ setup. Here, the robots prepare experiments, read
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the results at a specified time and interpret the data using Labomatica’s Gene Game software to independently prepare the next experimental cycle. This means that operators simply need to define the question, design the experimental system and then monitor the correct sequence and operation of the system. AGAMEDE can then conduct experiments 24 hours a day and deliver results.
The combination of AI and automation in a
high-throughput system is a breakthrough. Most automated high-throughput systems still require an operator to read the results and plan the next series of experiments after a cycle is completed. AGAMEDE can do this independently. “Thanks to the AI module, AGAMEDE
interprets the experiments without human involvement, based on mathematical models,” explains Radosław Pilarski, PhD, the inventor and Chief Engineer of the system. “The system can be used by central diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical companies in drug development, oncology laboratories in search of personalised therapies for patients, but also in R&D departments of chemical and biotechnology companies to optimise bioprocesses.” Since its foundation, the IBCH PAS has been dealing with RNA and DNA nucleic acids, so it had all the facilities to deal with SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. IBCH PAS Director, Prof. Marek Figlerowicz, says: “We decided to combine AGAMEDE’s automation capabilities with our tests and developed a high-throughput diagnostic protocol that allows us to test 15,000 samples in one day. This is an outstanding result, because when analysing samples manually, one person can at most process a few hundred samples a day.”
ROBOTS, PLC AND SOFTWARE FROM MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC The AGAMEDE project was created alongside technology partner Mitsubishi Electric, Labomatica and Perlan Technologies. Mitsubishi Electric provided a six-axis robot, PLC controls and its MELFA Basic software. The industrial robot with its long arm reach is the central component of the system.
Using an integrated set of robotic tools, it can 10
hile automating laboratory work is a common practice, the state-of- the-art AGAMEDE robotic system
perform microscale experiments on 96- and 384- well microassay plates, reproducing the work of a laboratory technician who continuously operates the analytical equipment. It does this according to the experimental protocols entered by the operator into the control software. The application further includes industrial cell
culture incubators, plate and tip feeders, pipetting stations, labellers, barcode scanners, plate sealers, fluorescence readers and spectrophotometers. As a particular highlight, AGAMEDE is equipped with an automated confocal microscope HCA with four fluorescence channels. For the biotechnology community, this instrument is the equivalent of the Hubble telescope brought into the microcosm. Instead of astronomical objects, it photographs and analyses millions of cells and tissue structures with similar quality and efficiency. The device is complemented by an acoustic dispenser that releases quantities of liquid in the nanolitre range (millionths of a millilitre). Rapid dispensing of such small volumes of solution reduces research costs and increases throughput. It allows experiments to be conducted using a collection of over 115,000 chemical compounds available.
WORKING UNDER HIGH PRESSURE “In implementing the first such advanced system in Poland – combining robotics with laboratory equipment – we benefited from our international experience,” says Roman Janik, Coordinator of Solutions for the Life Science Industry in Poland.
“The support of Mitsubishi Electric’s global organisation dedicated to innovative projects was very helpful.” However, he also emphasises the tight deadline of the project. “We all worked under time pressure to develop a solution that would relieve the lab technicians as quickly as possible. We were able to deliver a weekly throughput of 100,000 samples, which is scalable. This is a phenomenal result!”
BRINGING MANY WORLDS TOGETHER Tomasz Scholz, Robotics Engineer at Mitsubishi Electric, further recalls: “The task would have been complicated even without the time pressure. The AGAMEDE project is an interdisciplinary project that combines the worlds of robotics, computer science, industrial design, mathematics, biology and chemistry.
“As with many projects, the biggest challenge was to define the goal and how we would achieve it. The key to this was to find a common ‘technical language’ so that people from different areas of expertise could communicate on the same level and make their expectations clear. It was often difficult to bridge the gap between the academic world, which thinks in abstract terms, and the industrial world, which typically follows a fixed pattern.” For more info:
ie3a.mitsubishielectric.com
Mitsubishi Electric
ie.mitsubishielectric.com/en/ Irish Manufacturing January 2022
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