Randox Discovery Diagnostic Analyzer Wins 2021 Red Dot Award for High Design Quality

Randox Laboratories’ (Crumlin, UK) Discovery, a diagnostic analyzer which can consolidate molecular and immunoassay testing on one compact benchtop platform, has received the 2021 Red Dot Award for High Design Quality.

Dolmen Design and Innovation was briefed by the Randox team to develop a creative and dynamic way to showcase the cutting-edge inner workings of the Discovery. Essentially, to turn the magic of the machine into a piece of theatre; not just a tool, but the centre of attention, a focal point for the lab that has excellent usability and accessibility throughout. Dolmen and Randox collaborated closely to deliver a revolutionary instrument that, amongst its many abilities, is a COVID-19 diagnostic analyzer that is the first of its kind.

Combining almost 40 years of diagnostics into one platform, bringing multiple labs into one the COVID-19 diagnostic analyzer is the first of its kind to combine sample preparation techniques and Biochip Technology. The Randox Discovery utilizes Randox Biochip Technology, a multi-analyte testing platform facilitating the simultaneous quantitative or qualitative detection of a wide range of analytes from a single biological sample. A chemically activated 9x9mm ceramic biochip acts as a solid phase reaction vessel. Biochips are pre-fabricated with discrete test regions (DTRs), and a different antibody/oligonucleotide is immobilized at each spatially distinct DTR. Up to 49 individual DTRs can be arrayed on to a single biochip with one biochip per sample used to generate multiple results simultaneously. The biochip detection is based on a chemiluminescent signal emitting light, without heat, as a result of a chemical reaction. The light emitted is simultaneously detected and quantified using a CCD camera.

What makes the Discovery special is its ability to conduct the full testing process, inclusive of sample preparation techniques such as extraction, purification, amplification and detection, in one highly intelligent, fully integrated space. The preparation of COVID-19 samples before testing was once lengthy and time-consuming, requiring a separate, sterilized laboratory for each stage, but can now be conducted on-board and by the fully automated Discovery platform, allowing a single operator to run multiple molecular tests simultaneously.

Red Dot, which has become established as one of the top profile product design awards has roots dating back as far as 1955 and determines the best products created each year. Recognized as one of the largest global product competitions for innovation excellence, this sought-after seal for quality design attracts submissions from over 50 countries, across 49 different categories including medical devices and technology.

“Randox are delighted to have achieved the Red Dot design award, the culmination of five years of development and coordination of engineering design teams spanning two continents,” said Dr. Stuart Jackson, Randox Project Design Engineer. “The Discovery is a particularly unique innovation capable of automating Randox Biochip molecular diagnostics assays, from sample lysis and end-point PCR to multiplexing detection, with accessibility and ease-of-use at the forefront of the design.”

“We are delighted that our collaboration with Randox has delivered another Red Dot design award for our team,” added Chris Murphy, CEO and Design Director, Dolmen Design and Innovation. “Randox as a team truly value the power of design and how it can deliver better outcomes for end users. It is also wonderful to see our designs delivering positive change at the frontline of the COVID pandemic. This project was hugely collaborative, and we look forward to more collaborations in the future.”