Integra Biosciences has received a Red Dot Design Award for its innovative Viaflo Assist - a new laboratory device that, in combination with a Viaflo II electronic handheld pipette, enables the pipette’s protocols to be performed automatically. With its origins dating back to 1955, the Red Dot Design Award ranks among the most renowned design competitions in the world.
Integra received the prestigious award for the innovative design and function of its pipetting assistant that reduces the need for traditional handheld pipetting to a minimum, relieving lab personnel from activities that may cause repetitive stress injuries. The product met the jury's criteria of degree of innovation, functionality, formal quality, ergonomics, durability, symbolic and emotional content, product periphery, self-explanatory quality and ecological compatibility. Some 4,815 products were submitted in 23 main categories and have been evaluated by the international jury comprising 40 renowned designers. Following the award announcement, the Viaflo Assist will be put on display in the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany.
"Handheld pipetting requires practice to achieve steady reproducible pipetting results", said Juerg Bass, marketing manager for Integra. "Typical parameters influencing performance are tip immersion depth and pipetting angle. The automated pipetting capability of Viaflo Assist ensures these parameters are always the same, resulting in increased reproducibility and thus better results". "This prestigious design award underlines how we strive to provide ergonomic laboratory tools to customers that help improve the ease with which they can undertake their working practices and also increase productivity.”
