Our customer, Hygeia Sciences, Inc. wanted a strep test kit and the facility to produce it. The product (a 1-in. thimble) is a strep test kit, although it can also be used as a delivery system for other tests, i.e., pregnancy, scarlet fever, etc. The doctor peels back the lid and places the patient's sample on the exposed membrane surface. If the patient has the subject disease or condition, the sample changes colors.
Foster-Miller conducted the final design of the product, identified the materials used in the strep test kit, and then designed and built the manufacturing line. The key piece of equipment is the membrane spotting line, which places a precise quantity of the reactive material on the membrane web. The web is then inspected under fluorescing UV light with a vision system to check spot size. The assembly equipment takes the web, die cuts a disc, puts the die cut membrane on top of a cellulose pad, and then ultrasonically welds a lid to hold the assembly together.
In-house expertise applied to this project included:
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Materials technology.
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Liquid dispensing.
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Web handling.
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Machine environment controls.
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Machine vision.
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Air bearing web transport.
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Software development, including trend analysis.
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