Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute hopes to dramatically increase available coronavirus testing by using robots that can process a high volume of samples simultaneously, with a goal of opening a drive-thru testing site for the general public as early as Monday.
By using robots to process the samples, Biodesign Institute executive director Joshua LaBaer said, ASU can offer testing at a faster rate than state and hospital labs.
Faced with a testing kit bottleneck, health care officials and the state have lacked the ability to conduct widespread testing to screen for the virus, even among those who may be exhibiting symptoms or who are at risk already. If successful, ASU believes it could provide a crucial service that could start to turn the tide in fighting this outbreak.
