A development project to create a COVID-19 vaccine in Thailand is on track to start clinical trials in humans soon, during which the safety of volunteers and medical staff must be of the utmost importance. Mahidol University has introduced an innovative A.I. robot to help with the vaccine development project, which could replace humans in risky tasks.
The robot, called AI-Immunizer, has been developed by Mahidol University’s Faculty of Engineering, and the Institute of Molecular Biosciences. Harnessing artificial intelligence technology, this first of its kind robot in Thailand will help in the development of an anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
The robot can perform several tasks from virus culturing, antibody tests, processing, image storage, data analysis, and the generation of an accurate report in a timely manner.
Mr Chamras Promptmas, an advisor to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Mahidol University, says the robot can replace humans in certain tasks, which will reduce infection risks to medical professionals, as well as helping streamline their workflow.
He said the AI-Immunizer robot will help accelerate the development of a COVID-19 candidate vaccine in Thailand, while paving the way for other vaccine research and development projects in the future.
Researchers from the Department of Medical Sciences, the National Vaccine Institute, Chulalongkorn University, and Mahidol University have been making progress in the development of an experimental COVID-19 prototype vaccine. The vaccine is now being tested in monkeys, with favourable progress being reported.