In many areas of laboratory diagnostics, samples are still mostly processed manually. This is in part because the automation of processes is new territory for many users. The LifeTech product range offers customised solutions so that laboratories all over the world can use automation to work more safely, productively and economically.
The core applications of the Festo technologies are the standardised, precise processing of liquid samples and the accurate dispensing of gases and liquids. The products mainly used in laboratory technology are electric drives with motors and controllers, grippers, handling systems and sensors. Our unique selling point in medical technology is the high-precision dispensing of liquids and gases with our piezo valves.
Safe analysis in laboratories
Analysing a large number of samples safely, reliably and quickly is driving the trend towards the automation of laboratory analytics. Manually processing samples is time-consuming on the one hand and prone to errors on the other. Errors can include mixing up samples, inadequate sterilisation or imprecise dispensing of test liquids. Automated and thus reproducible processes minimise faulty analyses, create process reliability and increase economic efficiency.
We have a complete range of products for the most important applications: the handling of samples and liquids. These include solutions for labelling and identifying samples, for opening and closing sample containers, for removing or feeding precisely dispensed quantities of liquids, as well as transport and positioning systems. Festo develops customer-specific solutions for precise tasks using tried-and-tested components for electric and pneumatic automation. One example of this is systems for DNA analysis. They enable several thousand genetic extractions to be made per day for the selection of crops.
In practice:
extremely high sample throughput rates
If there’s one thing the COVID pandemic has taught us, it’s that laboratories have a huge demand for high sample throughput rates. Even when a laboratory has highly qualified staff, this demand can no longer be met. There’s no getting around the automation of laboratory processes. That is why Dutch company MolGen has developed the PurePrep TTR, which can prepare 320 patient samples per hour for further molecular processing. And they use laboratory-specific automation technology from Festo.
