University Student Develops Medical Testing Equipment Worth Tens of Millions for 30,000-40,000 Won... Essential for COVID-19 Test Kits

Hanwon, a senior in Biomedical Engineering at Pukyong National University, develops 'Antibody Dispenser'... Published in International Journal Journal

Antibody dispenser developed by Hanwon, an undergraduate student at Pukyong National University.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “Is experimental equipment too expensive? Then let's just make it ourselves.”

A university student made a big impact(?). That student directly developed essential medical experimental equipment used to produce COVID-19 test kits and others. The equipment, which usually costs several million won, was made for only 30,000 to 40,000 won.

This undergraduate student attracted attention by directly developing an ‘Antibody Dispenser,’ a medical experimental device that typically costs hundreds of thousands to millions of won.

On the 25th, Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-su) announced that Han Won (25), a senior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, developed a small antibody dispenser called ‘Antibody Dispenser’ using a 3D printer.

The antibody dispenser is an essential device for producing test kits that diagnose by applying liquid samples, such as COVID-19 test kits and pregnancy test kits.

The antibody dispenser sprays two or more antibodies in parallel at a consistent thickness onto the test kit paper, which is then cut to the required length for diagnosing antigens like COVID-19.

Existing antibody dispensers were difficult to equip in small laboratories due to their high price and large size. Also, the test kit paper was fixed at a certain length, and the dispensing head moved, limiting the length that could be output at one time.

The antibody dispenser developed by Han Won applies the opposite method: the dispensing head is fixed, and the test kit paper moves. This makes the device smaller while spraying antibodies in parallel at a consistent thickness, and the thickness of the antibody lines can be adjusted. It operates on a principle similar to an office printer.

Hanwon from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Pukyong National University.

This antibody dispenser can continuously output without length limitation as long as paper and antibodies are supplied. Since it was developed using Arduino and 3D printers, which are open-source hardware platforms, researchers can also build the equipment themselves.

Professor Shin Jung-ho, Han Won’s advisor from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Pukyong National University, said, “The production cost of this antibody dispenser is only 30,000 to 40,000 won. We expect this antibody dispenser to help promote various experiments and research aimed at quickly and cheaply testing antigens, such as recent coronavirus-related studies.”

Han Won’s research on developing this antibody dispenser was published in the international academic journal ‘HardwareX’ under the title ‘Low-cost, open-source 3D printed antibody dispenser for development and small-scale production of lateral flow assay strips.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.