Three third-year students of the Biomedical Engineering program at the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad Austral —Lucía Nerea Pérez, Julieta Hernández and Anika Micaela Sasaki— were selected to receive funding from the international Primordia Grants program thanks to their innovative project “Carroucell”.
The initiative was born within the framework of the Digital Electronics subject, where the students decided to combine their knowledge of biomedical engineering with automation tools to solve a specific problem in the health field.
“Carroucell” It is an automated histological staining battery, that is, a system designed to optimize a key process in tissue analysis.
Currently, histological staining—essential for observing samples under a microscope—is performed manually in many laboratories. This procedure involves immersing slides containing tissue in various solvents, following a specific protocol. This requires a significant investment of time and precision.
The students' proposal consists of an automated platform with plastic baskets containing the glass fragments from each fabric. The system rotates and, at each stage of the process, The baskets descend to different stations with solvents, replicating the manual procedure more efficiently and accurately.
"The goal is to shorten times and reduce manual intervention, making the process more agile and standardized."They explain.
The idea arose from a direct experience: Lucía Pérez, intern at the Institute of Translational Medicine Research (IIMT), He was able to observe firsthand how this procedure is performed manually within the Austral University Hospital.Based on that experience, the team identified an opportunity for improvement and began developing a more efficient solution to optimize the process.
While similar equipment exists abroad, its high cost makes it difficult to access in Argentina. Therefore, the challenge was clear: to develop an affordable solution, adapted to the local context and with its own unique character.
Motivated by the project's potential, the students applied to a call for proposals Primordia Grants, a US microfinance program that promotes early-stage bioscience projects.
Primordia aims to help scientific ideas move "from the notebook to the laboratory" through small, agile grants and support that promotes documentation and open learning.
The Carroucell project was selected from hundreds of applications, allowing the students to access funding to further develop their prototype.
This achievement reflects not only the talent and initiative of the students, but also the focus of the Biomedical Engineering program, which promotes practical application of knowledge and development of solutions with real impact.
Projects like “Carroucell” demonstrate how, from the classroom, it is possible to identify specific needs, design innovative solutions and project them internationally.
