GRIDIRON: smart automated tests for the detection of COVID

Biosensors are fascinating devices that emerge from a synergistic combination of well-established scientific knowledge and cutting-edge technologies including nanotechnology, rational design, materials science and microfluidics. These devices have proven to be useful in various sectors (e.g., medical, agri-food, environmental) and have demonstrated good practicality, sensitivity, reproducibility, and rapid response.

However, a critical analysis of the global biosensor market suggests that there is a bottleneck in the level of technological readiness in prototype development, corresponding to a large gap between academic research and industrial investments.

As a solution to this situation, AIR Institute, along with Embio Diagnostics and Fiw Consulting are working on the development of GRIDIRON. This project has been driven by DIH2, a consortium of Digital Innovation Hubs focused on promoting excellence in the development of robotics-based solutions. The solution is based on intelligent automated testing of electronic devices for COVID detection.

About GRIDIRON

Due to the biosensors ability to assess health status, disease onset and progression, they are being widely used by patients in home healthcare and hence are expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, technological advancements as well as various non-medical applications are expected to enhance the applicability of the biosensors market, thereby promoting its growth.

There is a need to automate and optimize production processes in the manufacture of biosensors and ancillary electronic materials to reduce costs and false negatives in diagnostic tests. In this regard, there is a growing trend to invest in solutions that detect production failures in biosensor manufacturing environments which are increasingly robotic. The GRIDIRON project addresses these issues and aims to detect and prevent possible errors in the circuits, electrodes and vials used in testing.