How do you feel about bacterial germs?
If your first thought isn’t: “If only there were a place for them to thrive outside of the human body,” then you’re probably not a scientist specializing in the study of anaerobic bacteria.
And if your second thought isn’t: “If only I could isolate, incubate, and work with them in an environmentally controlled room,” then chances are you’ve never heard of the AS-500 Gloveless Anaerobic Chamber, a project developed by Mighty Studios for a client, Anaerobe Systems.
A place for germs to thrive is exactly what—in very crude terms—the AS-500 is. The modular design is deceptively simple, consisting of one large, clear chamber with shelves for samples; gloveless design allowing for bare-handed manipulation; a secondary airlock or “passbox” to one side which creates an airless environment before moving samples to the main chamber; and an environmental control unit on top.
While this modular system seems simple, a look beneath the hood tells a different story, revealing a system of filters, a ‘brain’ providing all the computing power, and environmental controls to reliably ensure the perfect breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria so they can live their best, agar-plated lives.
For this project, the small team at Mighty Studios had the advantage of a pre-determined starting point. Building off previous versions, the client had developed a rudimentary, full-sized prototype of the chamber and dropped it off at Mighty’s HQ in San Jose. The ask? Refine ergonomics, simplify the overall aesthetic, identify and implement manufacturing efficiencies, and redesign crucial systems within the system.
But first, a little bit about germs—specifically anaerobic bacteria.
Anaerobic bacteria hate oxygen. These are the nasty bacteria that grow in the human body, such as salmonella, tetanus, and the bacteria that cause gangrene. To study these bacteria—collected in blood, urine, and swab samples—scientists need an airless environment in which to incubate and grow these samples in a petri dish. From cheek swab to agar plate to an environment custom-made for these bacteria—that’s where the AG-500 shines.
With an assemblage of metal and plexiglass parts in front of them as a prototype, Mighty’s team began the process of refining the layout within the main chamber (shelf layout, glass angle, lighting, etc.), modifying and enhancing the passbox functionality (think airlock in a space station, but to slide a sample through to the main chamber), and developing a snap-ring mechanism for the glove collar as part of the vacuum-less airlock cycle and sleeve entry for the gloveless feature. A critical area of focus sat atop the chamber itself—the upper environmental unit.
While Mighty Studios is known for industrial design, this project was unusual in that since a prototype already existed, the mechanical engineering prowess of the team could take center stage. Thus began a process of mechanical engineering development and a whole lot of thermal and fluid dynamics simulations to ensure the environment would provide exactly what anaerobic bacteria desire—no oxygen and a perfect temperature in which to thrive.
Joe Watson, the senior mechanical engineer on the Mighty team for this project, explains the process:
“The gas—the air—has to pass through a lot of different chambers, like heaters and chillers and all these different filters. It’s a complicated path that requires a lot of airflow analysis. I would create mockups in CAD of how the gas would flow, then our thermal design expert would run the simulations and analysis to determine tweaks to the system.”
In basic terms, this complex air circulation system is designed to continually heat and cool while pulling this air over filtration pellets that absorb and filter contaminates and keep the air clean.
Explains Watson: “All the organisms growing in there are giving off organic gasses and moisture, so the system needs to be able to filter that dirty air.”
The entire process, from kick-off to final delivery of the AS-500 Anaerobic Gloveless Chamber took around eight months, with the project comprising a wide range of engineering challenges. Throughout the project, the team was able to apply their problem-solving skills to the many ‘leaky’ challenges of an airless system by addressing door seal issues while ensuring no loss of pressure and providing engineering support and CAD development across the board.
Designed for diagnostic and biochemical labs, this anaerobic chamber gives labs and researchers the ability to manipulate samples in a controlled environment, and all within a modular system. Shelf layout can be configured to specific use-case requirements and hold up to 500 samples, while the passbox can be set up with left or right configuration or with multiple chambers operating off one passbox, making it ideal for larger labs.
Anaerobe had a wish list of things they wanted for the next iteration of their airless chamber. They wanted to make assembly and deployment easier to reduce cost, and to make the entire system more robust. It was somewhat of an unusual project for us in that there was almost no industrial design involved, just pure engineering.
Tark Abed
Founder, Mighty Studios