An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors
Abstract The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays on patients’ respiratory specimens, which are collected through either nasal or oropharyngeal swabs. The manual swab sampling process poses a high risk to the e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s10033-024-01009-5 |
| _version_ | 1827310327034806272 |
|---|---|
| author | Yafeng Cui Wenjie Yu Jingjing Li Qi Shao Ding Weng Guoping Yin Xiaohao Zhang Xinjun Liu Jingying Ye Jiadao Wang Huichan Zhao |
| author_facet | Yafeng Cui Wenjie Yu Jingjing Li Qi Shao Ding Weng Guoping Yin Xiaohao Zhang Xinjun Liu Jingying Ye Jiadao Wang Huichan Zhao |
| author_sort | Yafeng Cui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays on patients’ respiratory specimens, which are collected through either nasal or oropharyngeal swabs. The manual swab sampling process poses a high risk to the examiner and may cause false-negative results owing to improper sampling. In this paper, we propose a pneumatically actuated soft end-effector specifically designed to achieve all of the tasks involved in swab sampling. The soft end-effector utilizes circumferential instability to ensure grasping stability, and exhibits several key properties, including high load-to-weight ratio, error tolerance, and variable swab-tip stiffness, leading to successful automatic robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling, from loosening and tightening the transport medium tube cap, holding the swab, and conducting sampling, to snapping off the swab tail and sterilizing itself. Using an industrial collaborative robotic arm, we integrated the soft end-effector, force sensor, camera, lights, and remote-control stick, and developed a robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling system. Using this swab sampling system, we conducted oropharyngeal swab-sampling tests on 20 volunteers. Our Digital PCR assay results (RNase P RNA gene absolute copy numbers for the samples) revealed that our system successfully collected sufficient numbers of cells from the pharyngeal wall for respiratory disease diagnosis. In summary, we have developed a pharyngeal swab-sampling system based on an “enveloping” soft actuator, studied the sampling process, and implemented whole-process robotic oropharyngeal swab-sampling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:58:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4734a404f507454599ac6eb10c075816 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2192-8258 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:58:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-4734a404f507454599ac6eb10c0758162024-03-24T12:12:37ZengSpringerOpenChinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering2192-82582024-03-0137111310.1186/s10033-024-01009-5An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-EffectorsYafeng Cui0Wenjie Yu1Jingjing Li2Qi Shao3Ding Weng4Guoping Yin5Xiaohao Zhang6Xinjun Liu7Jingying Ye8Jiadao Wang9Huichan Zhao10Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing Huakang Tongbang Technology CompanyDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua UniversityTianjin Research Institute for Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract The most widely adopted method for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases is to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays on patients’ respiratory specimens, which are collected through either nasal or oropharyngeal swabs. The manual swab sampling process poses a high risk to the examiner and may cause false-negative results owing to improper sampling. In this paper, we propose a pneumatically actuated soft end-effector specifically designed to achieve all of the tasks involved in swab sampling. The soft end-effector utilizes circumferential instability to ensure grasping stability, and exhibits several key properties, including high load-to-weight ratio, error tolerance, and variable swab-tip stiffness, leading to successful automatic robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling, from loosening and tightening the transport medium tube cap, holding the swab, and conducting sampling, to snapping off the swab tail and sterilizing itself. Using an industrial collaborative robotic arm, we integrated the soft end-effector, force sensor, camera, lights, and remote-control stick, and developed a robotic oropharyngeal swab sampling system. Using this swab sampling system, we conducted oropharyngeal swab-sampling tests on 20 volunteers. Our Digital PCR assay results (RNase P RNA gene absolute copy numbers for the samples) revealed that our system successfully collected sufficient numbers of cells from the pharyngeal wall for respiratory disease diagnosis. In summary, we have developed a pharyngeal swab-sampling system based on an “enveloping” soft actuator, studied the sampling process, and implemented whole-process robotic oropharyngeal swab-sampling.https://doi.org/10.1186/s10033-024-01009-5DiagnosisMedical robotSoft end-effectorSwab-samplingDigital PCR |
| spellingShingle | Yafeng Cui Wenjie Yu Jingjing Li Qi Shao Ding Weng Guoping Yin Xiaohao Zhang Xinjun Liu Jingying Ye Jiadao Wang Huichan Zhao An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering Diagnosis Medical robot Soft end-effector Swab-sampling Digital PCR |
| title | An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors |
| title_full | An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors |
| title_fullStr | An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors |
| title_short | An Automatic Implementation of Oropharyngeal Swab Sampling for Diagnosing Respiratory Infectious Diseases via Soft Robotic End-Effectors |
| title_sort | automatic implementation of oropharyngeal swab sampling for diagnosing respiratory infectious diseases via soft robotic end effectors |
| topic | Diagnosis Medical robot Soft end-effector Swab-sampling Digital PCR |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s10033-024-01009-5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yafengcui anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT wenjieyu anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jingjingli anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT qishao anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT dingweng anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT guopingyin anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT xiaohaozhang anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT xinjunliu anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jingyingye anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jiadaowang anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT huichanzhao anautomaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT yafengcui automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT wenjieyu automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jingjingli automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT qishao automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT dingweng automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT guopingyin automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT xiaohaozhang automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT xinjunliu automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jingyingye automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT jiadaowang automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors AT huichanzhao automaticimplementationoforopharyngealswabsamplingfordiagnosingrespiratoryinfectiousdiseasesviasoftroboticendeffectors |