Autonomous Throat Swab Sampling System with Robotic Arm
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of collecting throat swabs for nucleic acid tests is highly risky for medical staff due to high aerosol concentration and requires skilled operation, leading to potential cross-infection and false-negative results.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous throat swab sampling system that includes automatic identity verification, head positioning, navigation, sample collection, and remote monitoring, utilizing a three-degree-of-freedom guide rail mechanism and six-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm to automate the sampling process, reducing manual intervention and risk of infection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual throat swab collection is performed by medical staff, then sampling can be completed with current equipment, but medical staff face high infection risk and workload
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables autonomous operation where the robotic device independently performs identity verification, head positioning, throat swab collection, and sample sealing without continuous human intervention. The automated control system coordinates multiple subsystems to complete the entire sampling process autonomously, eliminating the need for medical staff to physically perform the swab collection.
Solution Approach 2:
A robotic arm serves as an intermediary between the control system and the patient, performing the physical act of throat swab collection. The robotic device mediates the interaction between medical staff (who remain at a distance) and the patient, transferring the sampling function from human hands to mechanical arms while maintaining safety protocols.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If medical staff wear comprehensive protective equipment for extended periods, then infection risk is reduced, but work intensity and working hours become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the high-risk sampling function from medical staff and transfers it to an automated robotic device. By removing the dangerous task from human operators, the system eliminates the need for prolonged wear of heavy protective equipment while maintaining or improving sampling capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual swab collection with an automated robotic mechanical system. This substitution eliminates direct human contact with potential pathogens during sampling, thereby reducing infection risk without compromising operational efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If throat swab collection is performed manually, then sampling can be adapted to different patients, but operation quality varies due to staff skills and fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The system standardizes critical sampling parameters such as swab insertion depth, angular orientation, and contact pressure through automated control. By precisely controlling these parameters, the system ensures consistent sampling quality across different patients and operators, eliminating variability caused by human skill differences and fatigue.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions including automatic head positioning, mouthpiece adjustment, and trajectory planning before the actual swab collection. These preparatory steps ensure that the sampling procedure is optimally configured for each patient, improving both consistency and ease of operation.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If enclosed sampling rooms are used to contain aerosols, then infection spread is limited, but aerosol concentration remains high creating ongoing risk
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic device acts as an intermediary that enables sampling operations to be performed with medical staff positioned outside the high-risk enclosed sampling area. This spatial separation reduces aerosol concentration in the staff workspace while maintaining containment within the sampling room.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the sampling process into distinct zones: an enclosed high-risk sampling area where the robotic device operates, and a separate low-risk control area where medical staff monitor and control the procedure. This spatial segmentation reduces overall aerosol exposure for personnel.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention proposes an automatic throat swab sampling system, which comprises an automatic to-be-tested person identity information checking and collection prompting unit, a to-be-tested person head positioning unit, a navigation positioning unit which enters the oral cavity of a to-be-detected person along with the tail end of the sample collection execution unit for collecting a throat image and determining depth information between a depth sensor and the throat of the to-be-detected person, a sample collection execution unit including a three-degree-of-freedom guide rail type device and a one-degree-of-freedom end execution mechanism, an automatic throat swab loading and unloading unit and a remote monitoring unit which are arranged on a working platform. In a throat swab collecting process, the real-time information of all units communicates with the remote monitoring unit, and medical staff monitors the collected person and all the units in real time through a computer in a remote safety room, so that measures can be taken timely to guarantee the safety and effectiveness of the whole process when an accident occurs. The system realizes the full-automatic throat swab collection process.