Case Study: Imperial College London achieves rapid development of biocompatible microfluidic diagnostics with 3D Systems' Figure 4 Standalone

Imperial College London - Customer Case Study

3D Systems partnered with Imperial College London’s Lacewing team to tackle the urgent need for portable molecular diagnostics, including COVID‑19 testing. The challenge was to develop biocompatible, functional microfluidic components and device parts that enable rapid, accurate, field‑deployable testing without the expense or time of traditional cleanroom fabrication.

Using the Figure 4 Standalone printer and production‑grade, biocompatible materials (notably MED‑AMB 10), the team rapidly prototyped and produced complex microfluidic cartridges and housings, iterating designs multiple times per day. Outcomes included high‑resolution prints that do not inhibit PCR reactions, efficient batch post‑processing in under 20 minutes, and accelerated experimentation that advanced the Lacewing platform toward validation and scaled production.

Imperial College London

Matthew Cavuto

Student and Research Assistant