Robotic System Detects Genetic Damage.

• Position: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute SHE machine - Brief Article

Once the only way to find out if a potential new product could be linked to cancer and other diseases was to expose it to a large number of rats or other laboratory animals to see if any of them developed genetic damage. Now, a robotic system developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., can rapidly scan cell cultures to detect whether such products could be harmful.

The RPI SHE Machine, developed by Badri Roysam, associate professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, and Daniel Walczyk, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is faster than animal testing (days instead of months), requires far fewer animals, and correlates strongly with animal tests. The system performs automatic scoring of the SHE (Syrian Hamster Embryo)...