Cortex Design: Diagnostic Reader

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  Lid Closed

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  Lid Opened

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  Render with Lid Closed

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  Render with Lid Opened

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  Spring compressed, top removed

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  Spring expanded and pushing cartridge, top removed

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  Inside render of assay reading area

Inspiration

Our main inspiration for the design was a Keurig coffee machine. Instead of pushing the spikes into the capsule, however, our device pushes the capsule into the spikes to puncture it. Another main inspiration we took from is a stapler. A stapler is a paradigm of "easy to use" and we wanted to emulate its design.

What it does

Our device first allows the user to position the cartridge into the lower half. Then, all the user has to do is close the lid of the device. When the lid is closed, it pushes a stopper out of the way, allowing a plunger attached to a compressed spring to release and push the capsule into the spikes. The contents are released onto the lateral flow assay and is illuminated by two white LEDs. The results are read by a camera placed above the assay and in an area protected from ambient light.

To release the mechanism and reload another cartridge, the user simply has to pull on the tabs located at the side of the design to compress the spring and allow the lid to open again. Now they can replace the cartridge and take another reading.

How we built it

We built this design using AutoDesk Inventor, and everyone had a part in the final design.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we ran into was deciding how compact the device should be. While a bigger structure is more stable and easy to use, much of the space would be wasted. Another challenge was designing the somewhat complicated mechanism for plunging the sample into the assay.

What's next for Cortex Design: Diagnostic Reader

Our first model is just a design prototype. Our next steps would be to refine the design of the pieces to make them more suitable for manufacturing, choose appropriate materials for constructing, and test our design with many cartridges to verify it's function.

Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gFEiNTlLTEs3i1SIUKJWrK6NZnq1SvyQ/view?usp=sharing

Built With

• inventor