Case Study
deepull
Accelerating Sepsis Care with a Fully Automated, Rapid PCR System.
Product
UllCORE
Customer:
deepull
Market/Application:
Molecular Diagnostics / Infectious Disease
From initial concept to a fully integrated solution, LRE worked with deepull to develop a fully automated, direct-from-blood pathogen detection system for rapid bloodstream infection and sepsis diagnosis.
The UlICORE platform delivers pathogen detection and antimicrobial resistance insights in about one hour, addressing a critical clinical gap where traditional blood culture methods can take days and sometimes miss key pathogens.
From concept to a fully integrated solution
From initial concept through prototype delivery, LRE worked in close collaboration with deepull to rapidly evolve the system. The platform consolidates all critical processes into a compact, cohesive benchtop device tailored for hospital laboratories and critical care environments.
Designed for demanding clinical environments
Combining high-performance automation with a space-efficient design, the final system delivers rapid, culture-free diagnostics in a fully integrated platform.
Major Challenges
- Miniaturizing and integrating multiple laboratory steps—extraction, amplification, and detection—into a single benchtop system
- System integrated high performance centrifuges for fully customized consumables within limited space
- Running complex instrument development in parallel to assay development
Our Solution
- Holistic system design integrating all submodules into an automated workflow
- Fully customized submodules developed to maximize performance while minimizing footprint and cost, covering mechanics, electronics, optics, and software
- Implementation of a robotics system including teaching and calibration
- Design and implementation of an automated scheduler enabling parallel execution of workflows in a single resource system
- Instrument architecture optimized for assembly, serviceability, and real-world clinical use, including comprehensive system logging
- Intuitive, clinician-focused user interface tailored to critical care and laboratory workflows
- Iterative adaptation of instrument and subsystems to accommodate evolving assay requirements
- FDA and ISO 13485-compliant development, from concept through industrialization
Proven Expertise
- Close collaboration with deepull to define and align product requirements from the outset
- Rapid delivery of functional subsystem modules within five months, enabling early validation
- Engineering and production n of the first fully integrated functional unit within one year
- High-density integration and automation of several lab functionalities like centrifugation and PCR in a compact system
- Iterative design refinement addressing clinical and technical needs in real time
- Early incorporation of supply chain planning and production readiness engineering
- Agile, phased development approach that reduces risk and accelerates time to clinical readiness