This year’s winner of the IBO Design Award for laboratory equipment present new approaches to standard lab equipment industrial design that are both visually appealing, and increase the device’s functionality and ease of use. Lab equipment is defined as systems used in the lab that receive an electrical current, are operational for a minimum of one year and do not analyze a sample characteristic.

Gold Award

BioCision’s ThawSTAR automated sample thawing system is the winner of IBO’s 2015 Gold Award for lab equipment industrial design. The device not only brings a modern and sleek appearance to lab equipment but also represents a new type of lab device. The ThawSTAR automatically thaws frozen 2 mL cryovials, replacing water baths and other techniques.

The ThawSTAR measures 11.0 x 14.5 cm (5.7 x 4.3 in) and weighs 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) with power supply. The price is $1,595 with an optional validation package for GxP environments.

The system takes a novel approach to lab equipment design, utilizing a round footprint, button- and touchscreen-free interface and glossy white finish to communicate simplicity and elegance.

Informing the ThawSTAR’s design was the need for intuitive operation, and a compact size so that it can be used in cell culture hoods or point-of-care settings, according to Eric Kunkel, PhD, senior vice president of R&D at BioCision. “The focus was on smooth, compact lines and a buttonless, tactile-oriented and intuitive operation approaching a ‘zero user interface’ scenario.”

To guide user interaction, the system utilizes lights and sounds. Tactile tube insertion starts the thawing process, and the tube is automatically ejected when thawing is completed. “We wanted the user to interact intuitively and visually with the unit and feel like the unit’s response was organic; instead of screens with words and codes, we opted for a more intuitive system with pulsing lights and sounds,” said Dr. Kunkel.

The ThawSTAR’s operational cues and ability to standardize thawing procedures is inherent in its design. “The simple and intuitive interface contributes to the goal of standardization, as there are no buttons or settings that users can change to affect the thawing outcome; this aspect of the design has been critical to enabling use of ThawSTAR in GxP and clinical settings where users are looking for risk mitigation through simplicity,” said Dr. Kunkel.

Silver Award

The winner of IBO’s 2015 Silver Award for Laboratory Equipment design is Hamilton Storage Technologies’ LabElite I.D. Reader for reading 2-D barcoded tubes in racks.

The system measures 18.1 x 13.5 x 36.4 cm (7.1 x 5. 3 x 14.3 in) and weighs around 2.3 kg (5 lb). The product was designed in collaboration with Alta Design. Including optional hardware for 1-D barcodes, the system price is $11,700.

Rounded edges, a clean black and white casing, and a horizontal orientation give the I.D. Reader a sophisticated and sleek appearance that distinguishes it from similar systems. The horizontal orientation was a key consideration, according to Ian Flaherty, product manager at Hamilton Storage Technologies. “We have two angled mirrors that we use to project the image up from the bottom onto the tube racks, so that made our instrument have much more of a benchtop feel.”

The flat deck space also allows multiple tube racks to be placed back to back for faster scanning. “One of the things we did was create a top portion where users can easily slide the rack in place. There’s two points of contact up in the corner where you want to slide [the rack] in.” A button on the front eliminates the need for a software interaction for each scan.

Bronze Award

The 2015 IBO Bronze Award for Laboratory Equipment industrial design goes to Retsch’s Emax high energy ball mill. It measures 625 x 525 x 645 mm (24.6 x 20.7 x 25.4 in) and weighs 120 kg (264.6 lb). It operates at a maximum speed of 2,000 min-1 and is designed for size reduction, homogenization, nano grinding, mechanical alloying and colloidal grinding.

The Emax presents a modern appearance with rounded edges, color-contrasted touch points and clean styling. The slanted orientation and curves create a more compact and approachable appearance. Design features include integrated water cooling.