Mobile lab for epidemiological applications

20-Feb-2013 - Germany

The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT is working on future lab technology. The project is funded by the state government of Germany´s Saarland and unites local and national partners from industry and craftsmanship.

Built and financed in the framework of the project »Labor der Zukunft« (lab of the future) this mobile lab demonstrates highly innovative hard- and software components in a very compact package from the fields of laboratory and medical technology. Following the world’s first mobile lab with biological safety level 3, Fraunhofer IBMT together with the special vehicle manufacturer Bischoff + Scheck again demonstrates another customized mobile laboratory application.

Three slide-out compartments nearly doubling the floor space provide the room required for the medical treatment and consultation. The control system allows for the remote surveillance and control of any relevant data of the vehicle ranging from ventilation and air condition to the fuel level of Diesel and water tanks. Redundant power supplies enable safe and autonomous service of the unit via landline and built-in power generators as well as multi-modal heating and cooling systems.

Since January 2013 the vehicle is on the road throughout Germany collecting human samples from volunteers for the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). For the first time the vehicle enables identical conditions for collection, processing and analysis of samples at the different locations.

The lab is equipped with a biological safety hood and all required analytical instruments for blood and urine human samples. All process steps from medical consultation of the volunteers to the processing of the samples are optimized. Sample locks are using radio frequency technology to identify electronic labels and thus the volunteer’s tracking number.

Storage of samples is also fully integrated into the workflow. A cryotank with dedicated sample racks and automatic liquid nitrogen supply is used for deep freezing of samples. At the end of a sampling campaign the entire tank with the samples is transferred to the archive of the ESB: Without once handling a single sample thus, never breaking the cold chain.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/141759/mobile-lab-for-epidemiological-applications.html