A Swabbing Robot for Covid-19 Specimen Collection

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused large scale of people in danger of infection and death during early outbreak period. Precise screening of the new coronal virus through PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing on the nasal or oral sample becomes very critical for epidemic control. This study proposes the idea of using a robotic remote manipulation platform for oral and nasal specimen collection operated by medical staffs. The oral cavity image was captured by a compact camera and then displayed on the human machine interface for the medical staffs to confirm the target region for sample collection. The wiping action of the robot was accomplished with a force control with force sensing the contact force between the cotton swab and soft tissue. A prototype of the swabbing robot has been implemented to verify the feasibility and safety of the remote robot-assisted specimen collection.