SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY LOCATING AND MANIPULATING POSITIONS ON AN OBJECT

• US 20080238674A1
• Filed: 03/29/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ikonisys, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ikonisys, Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Youngmin, Tafas, Triantafyllos P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,639,139 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/022 Transponder chips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0822 Slides
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/545 for laboratory containers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2001/282 with mapping; Identification of areas; Spatial correlated pattern
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00782 reprogrammmable code
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00851 process control parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/34 Microscope slides, e.g. mounting specimens on microscope slides
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/365 Control or image processing arrangements for digital or video microscopes G02B21/361, G02B21/362 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis

Abstract

A system for automatically locating positions on an object and uniquely identifying the object employing an electronic tag positioned in or on the object. The system utilizes a plurality of sensors to locate the electronic tag and identify the object, and triangulation techniques to locate positions on the object where the object may be manipulated according to instructions coded with respect to the positions. Advantageously, the present invention may be used for automatically locating specimens on a microscope slide without regards to their positions on the slide, and for uniquely labeling a microscope slide.

Claims

1. A system for automatically locating and identifying a specimen comprising:

a substrate having a first region for receiving a sample of specimens and a second region for receiving a tag representing an identifier code for said specimens;

a plurality of remote devices capable of emitting signals and remotely activating said tag on said substrate;

a viewer device positioned over said substrate, said viewer having a microprocessor capable of communicating with said plurality of remote devices;

said microprocessor operatively configured to record and store said position of said viewer over said substrate in relation to said signals received from said remote devices corresponding to said location of said sample of specimens on said substrate; and

operatively configured to record and store said identifier code for said sample of specimens.

2. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a microscope slide.

3. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said viewer device is a microscope.

4. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said sample of specimens further comprise biological cells.

5. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said tag comprises a radio frequency identifier device (RFID).

6. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 5, wherein said tag device comprises a passive RFID.

7. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said tag comprises a block of data formed in a transponder device on an integrated circuit chip.

8. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 7, wherein said block of data includes biological information identifying the source of harvested biological specimens.

9. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said remote devices comprise electronic sensors that emit electromagnetic radiation.

10. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said remote devices comprise electronic interrogators.

11. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of remote devices comprises two or more of such devices.

12. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said microprocessor communicates with said remote devices electromagnetically.

13. The automatic specimen locator/identifier system according to claim 1, wherein said microprocessor uses triangulation techniques to compute said position of said tag relative to the position of said microscope over said substrate.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein said block of data includes biological information identifying the source of harvested biological specimens.