On 20 February, Shanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed two MGI container labs to the Second People’s Hospital of Jinzhong, Taigu District. MGI’s engineering team completed installation, debugging and commissioning within just 12 hours to support the local COVID-19 response.
“Empowered by the automated and integrated mobile testing labs, we are confident in cooperating with Shanxi CDC to significantly enhance local testing capacity for more effective COVID-19 control and prevention,” said Guo Tingzhen, Party Secretary of Jinzhong Second People’s Hospital.
MGI Container Lab
The two container labs are equipped with MGI’s MGISP-960 Sample Preparation System and MGISTP-7000 Sample Transfer System, enabling laboratory technicians to process up to 10,000 samples per day. These high-automation systems manage the entire workflow, from barcode identification, sample preparation, DNA/RNA extraction and liquid transfer, to fluorescence quantitative PCR testing and report distribution, creating a highly efficient, streamlined diagnostic process.
This Biosafety Level 2 laboratory is enhanced with advanced ventilation, air exchange, pressure control and sterilisation systems. It contains three main functional areas: reagent preparation room, sample preparation room and PCR room. The container lab is designed for easy transport and rapid deployment to open spaces such as stadiums, community hospitals or health departments, wherever mass testing is required. It reduces both sample transport time and patient travel time, while the automated systems minimise labour, shorten turnaround times to just four hours and significantly increase testing efficiency and capacity.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, MGI container labs have supported many provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Guangxi and Henan, in combating COVID-19. We are committed to upgrading our innovative platforms to standardise diagnostic labs with higher data capacity and automation for large-scale nucleic acid detection,” said Lin Siyuan, Director of Mobile Platforms at MGI.
