In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lifeline Robotics designed and developed the world’s first automatic throat swab robot in collaboration with the University of Southern Denmark and investors such as REInvest Robotics
The Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how costly pandemics can be, and not just in lives. Lockdowns and infections have had huge knock-on effects on healthcare services and the economy as a whole.
Spending money on testing and tracing has been shown to be 30x less expensive than the costs without such initiatives in place. However, such policies have required a lot of human workers placing themselves at increased risk to provide these services – frontline healthcare workers have up to 10x increased risk of infection than the general population as a direct result of their work.
At the same time, testing sites have also posed a couple of significant problems. Firstly, with these sites often being located in towns and cities, it has been time-consuming and costly for those in more rural areas to get tested. At the same time, testing sites have often seen long queues, leading to individuals sometimes waiting hours to be tested. With that loss of time and money (lost wages, travel costs) having a significant effect on the poorest citizens as one outcome of not being financially able to travel for tests is not being tested at all. Ultimately, imposing an increased health risk upon themselves and their neighbourhood.
The Solution
Lifeline Robotics CAREEBO LLR S1 automatic swab robot helps to meet the following three sustainable development goals:
- Risk Reduction – The CAREEBO LLR S1 automatic swab robot reduces the risk of infection among both healthcare workers and patients by removing the need for human-to-human contact to collect a swab sample.
- Early Warning – The current manual swabbing process is difficult and cumbersome. The CAREEBO LLR S1 is not only able to automate this and provide standardized sampling procedures, but also to work around the clock making testing and tracing strategies more effective.
- Accessibility – The CAREEBO LLR S1 is accessible to hospitals and healthcare institutions of all sizes. Providing the possibility for individuals to be tested closer to home and at any time.
Customer Testimonial
Lifeline Robotics CAREEBO LLR S1 automatic swab robot was presented in Denmark on Wednesday 27th of May 2020. The fast and agile innovation was made possible thanks to the unique and well-organized automation and robotics cluster in Denmark.
“Staffs are in great demand in other functions, especially during the current epidemic. The robot can work around the clock, and it provides a safe procedure for every citizen tested […] This invention is a great example of the potential of robotics within the health care sector”