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MEDICAL
The race to manufacture Ellume’s COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests In an Australian manufacturing success story, Ellume is in the process of automating the high-volume production of its rapid COVID-19 home test using the latest technologies from Bosch and Rockwell Automation. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread to all parts of the globe. There have been more than 395 million cases around the world and this figure continues to rise rapidly. Healthcare systems are overwhelmed and continue to face a multitude of challenges as they work to manage demand while providing high-quality care. Communities, governments and industry around the world are now recognising the importance of minimising the requirement for widespread lockdowns and travel restrictions, which have been the main line of defence against COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. As countries around the world move towards a new post-pandemic normal, rapid diagnostic testing has an integral role in reducing disease burden, managing outbreaks and community transmission, and reducing pressure on healthcare systems. Ellume, a Brisbane-based digital diagnostic company, has recently developed a rapid COVID-19 home test which detects the SARSCoV-2 antigen and complies with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting requirements. Accurate results are provided within 15 minutes, providing users with quick results, and helping communities to return to a ‘new normal.’ With a growing list of orders, predominantly from the United States, ensuring supply was a key priority for Ellume.
The project utilised more than 160 robots, 200-plus visions systems and more than 60 PLCs
Ellume called on Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS), a leading supplier of factory automation for the medical device industry, to automate the high-volume production of its COVID-19 diagnostic tests. This involves 27 new production lines in total – three new lines for Ellume’s facility in Brisbane, Australia and 24 production lines for their facility in Maryland, U.S. “We are providing Ellume with 18 fully automated assembly lines for manufacturing the home COVID-19 analyser unit. This also includes an end-of-line test system which communicates to the analyser unit over Bluetooth and completes a functional check to ensure the quality of the part,” said Bradley Trewin, Programme Manager, BAMS. “BAMS is also manufacturing nine lines for the production of the ‘dropper’ which will fully automate the assembly and packing of this product,” he added.
Ellume invested in new manufacturing lines for their facilities in Australia and the US.
Scaling up production To meet the consumer demand for COVID-19 home tests, Ellume has invested in new manufacturing lines for their facilities in both Australia and the U.S. “COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon and as communities and economies continue to open up there will be increased need for rapid antigen tests which is why automating our production is vital to meet a surge in consumer demand,” said Sean Parsons, founder and CEO, Ellume.
AMT JUN 2022
Once complete, the production capacity will be nine parts per second.
