By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Scientists at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) said Friday they have developed a robot that can handle 70 different types of blood tests, which may draw interest from smaller hospitals with modest personnel and equipment.
The 1.6-meter robot, developed by a team of researchers led by POSTECH scientist Chung Wan-kyun, is packed with the latest advancements in biotechnology.
The prototype machine, revealed at a news conference at the COEX Exhibition Center in Seoul Friday, has an inbuilt reagent dispenser, a protein detector using nano-scale electromechanical devices and computer software that supports doctors in the diagnosis of an illness.
The robot currently handles 70 different types of blood tests, Chung said, but its creators are planning to push that number to 100 by next year.
``Right now, we gather hundreds of blood samples and test them all at once at a laboratory of a big hospital," said Chung.
``With these robots successfully commercialized, the smaller hospitals could use these machines for blood testing, which will give doctors a quicker result and patients a cheaper bill," he said.
The robot could make life easier for small to mid-sized medical institutions and patients, who now have to go through the trouble of finding a general hospital for blood tests instead of visiting the neighborhood doctor. The drawback is that they will have to wait until 2012.
The robot is the first achievement of the 8-year, 13 billion won ($12.4 million) ``bio robot'' project that started in 2005 utilizing researchers from POSTECH, Hanyang and Sung Kyun Kwan universities, the Pohang Institute of Intelligent Robotics, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, and Samsung Medical Center.
The project is drawing interest from several Korean high-tech firms who are expected to join the second-phase of the development project, according to POSTECH researcher Ahn Ki-tack. Six companies will be selected to form a consortium to develop commercialized versions of the robots, which could be used in hospitals as early as 2012, Ahn said.