A software company in Bristol is preparing to bring technology to market that early trials have suggested could help increase roll-out capacity in vaccine clinics around the world.
Indus Fusion has developed an automated vaccine preparation device which is designed to allow multiple syringes to extract doses from vials automatically.
The organisation, has said its system can improve efficiency at clinics, as it allows staff more time to administer jabs and other care duties by freeing them from “highly labour intensive” preparation of vaccines.
Indus Fusion, which is based at the Future Space laboratory at the University of West England’s Stoke Gifford campus, has estimated that typical local vaccination sites have a team of ten staff that can deliver around 550 doses in a long ten-hour shift.
Last year Its team of developers and engineers developed a working prototype of its platform within 100 days of consulting doctors who were coordinating the operations of NHS Covid-19 vaccination clinics.
The company said that early trials had indicated that the use of the technology had allowed for the preparation of 770 vaccines a day - a 40% increase in roll-out capacity.
Dr Michael Pambos, the accountable officer of the NHS Covid vaccination program in Sutton, South London, said Indus Fusion had made a task that previously was not automatable “a reality”.
Dr Pambos said: “It has been a joy to work with the group of highly skilled engineers to see a prototype, develop it, refine it and, within a short timeframe, see a solution.”
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Indus Fusion said it had started to work with partners in South Korea to take the system to market.
In June 2020, Indus Fusion secured a £75,000 grant from the government’s innovation agency Innovate 海角视频 to help automate sample preparation for NHS pathology labs and a multinational pharmaceutical firm.
Indus Fusion said that its technology could benefit labs throughout the world and early discussions are underway for how it could be used to help developing nations.
Arthur Keeling, co-founder, Indus Fusion said: “We founded Indus Fusion to bring together multiple technologies that have to work together if automation is to become more accessible for all companies.
“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, this project has provided a chance to test these ideas with the support from Innovate 海角视频.”
Mr Keeling added that Innovate 海角视频 EDGE had “played an important role” in the company’s growth by facilitating introductions to key industry figures and helping to upskill staff in areas including intellectual property.
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