DaiDipper

Automated staining machine to help cancer diagnosis

robotics
code
arduino

DaiDipper V2 - Raspberry Pi & Python

DaiDipper V1 - Arduino

Motivation

Cancer incidence and mortality rates in Africa are increasing, in collaboration with Africa Cancer Trust (Registered Charity 1189665) we aimed to build a low-budget immunostaining machine to aid in cancer diagnostics; the DaiDipper.

Automated staining machines have been around for a while however they have a hefty price tag. We hope by making a cheap accessible ease of use automated staining machine we could aid in cancer diagnostics in poorly funded labs.

The Properties of the DaiDipper:

Cheap

We aimed to have a total cost <£100

Open-access

All code and instructions to build on yourself will be published

Accessible

All components should be easily accessible

Ease of use

No expertise knowledge required

Components

The first version of the DaiDipper was built using Arduino. It consists of;

Component Price Shop
UNO R3 £10 Banggood
CNC Shield £4 Banggood
A4988 Stepper Motor Drivers x2 £2 Banggood
Nema17 Stepper Motors x2 £15 Banggood
2004 LCD Smart Display Controller £14 Amazon

For this beta type the total cost is only £45. The case is 3D printed using a model on Thingiverse.