SAMPLE CARRIER IDENTIFICATION

• US 20140197925A1
• Filed: 05/12/2010
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Inventors: Abenaim, Daniel, Tverskoy, Mark, Poulo, Lou
• Granted Patent: US 9,679,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/025 Align devices or objects to ensure defined positions relative to each other
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/022 Transponder chips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/023 Sending and receiving of information, e.g. using bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/024 Storing results with means integrated into the container
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/54 Labware with identification means identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers G01N35/00732
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00138 Slides
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00841 results of the analyses
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00732 Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves

Abstract

A sample carrier (102) includes a sample support region (104) that supports a sample to be processed by a sample carrier processing apparatus and storage and communications circuitry (106) that includes a wireless interface (502) that wirelessly communicates with a storage component reader of the sample processing apparatus when the sample carrier is loaded in the sample processing apparatus for processing. A sample carrier processing apparatus (100) includes a plurality of sample carrier receiving regions (116) respectively configured to receive individual sample carriers carrying samples to be processed by the sample carrier processing apparatus and a plurality of storage component readers (120), one for each of the plurality of sample carrier receiving regions and respectively configured to wirelessly communicate, one to one, with the sample carrier in a corresponding one of the sample carrier receiving regions.

Claims

1. A sample carrier, comprising:

a sample support region that supports a sample to be processed by a sample processing apparatus; and

storage and communications circuitry that includes a wireless interface that wirelessly communicates with a storage component reader of the sample processing apparatus when the sample carrier is loaded in the sample processing apparatus for processing.

2. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface communicates with only one storage component reader of the sample processing apparatus.

3. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface includes a radio frequency identification interface that store a unique identification for the sample carrier.

4. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the storage and communications circuitry is a non-removable part of the sample carrier.

5. The sample carrier of claim 1, the storage and communications circuitry, further including a contact interface that communicates through a physical electrically conductive path with the storage component readers when the sample carrier is loaded in the sample processing apparatus for processing.

6. The sample carrier of claim 5, further comprising:

logic that selects one of the wireless interface or the contact interface for communication with the storage component reader based on a communication from the storage component reader.

7. The sample carrier of claim 5, wherein the storage and communications circuitry includes an integrated chip with both the wireless interface and the contact interface.

8. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the sample carrier is loaded in the sample processing apparatus along with a plurality of other sample carriers and the sample processing apparatus includes a plurality of storage component readers, each configured for one to one communication with a single sample carrier.

9. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the sample carrier is a bio-chip.

10. The sample carrier of claim 1, further comprising:

a disconnection region connecting first and second regions of the sample carrier, wherein the sample support region and the storage and communications circuitry are located in the same one of the first or second regions which disconnects from the other of the first or second regions via the disconnection region to form a smaller sample carrier with both the sample support region and the storage and communications circuitry.

11. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface wirelessly communicates with the sample carrier processing apparatus through capacitive coupling.

12. The sample carrier of claim 1, wherein a unique identifier of the sample carrier is read before loading the sample carrier in the sample processing apparatus and associated with a sample carrier receiving region in which the sample carrier is loaded, the unique identifier of the sample carrier is read again after processing, the read unique identifiers are compared, and a signal is generated based on the comparison and used to confirm that the processed sample carrier is the desired sample carrier.

13. A sample carrier processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of sample carrier receiving regions respectively configured to receive individual sample carriers carrying samples to be processed by the sample processing apparatus; and

a plurality of storage component readers, one for each of the plurality of sample carrier receiving regions and respectively configured to wirelessly communicate, one to one, with the sample carrier in a corresponding one of the sample carrier receiving regions.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of storage component readers is configured to communicate, one to one, with the sample carrier in the corresponding one of the sample carrier receiving regions through a physical electrical contact therebetween.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of storage component readers are RFID readers and the plurality of sample carriers include RFID tags, the RFID readers read information from the tags.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the plurality of storage component readers read unique identification information from the sample carriers.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a controller that creates mappings between the read unique identifiers of the sample carriers and unique identifiers of corresponding sample carrier receiving regions.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller associates processing result for sample carrier receiving regions with sample carriers based on the mappings.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a sample carrier includes a sample support region that supports a sample to be processed by a sample processing apparatus and storage and communications circuitry that includes a wireless interface that wirelessly communicates with only one of the storage component readers.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the storage and communications circuitry includes a contact interface for communicating with only one of the sample carrier readers.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein apparatus is configured to sequence DNA samples support by the sample carrier.

22. A method, comprising:

positioning a plurality of readers over a plurality of sample carriers respectively loaded in a plurality of sample carrier receiving regions of a sample processing apparatus, wherein a single reader is positioned over each of the sample carriers;

activating each reader to read a unique identifier of only the sample carrier loaded in a corresponding sample carrier receiving region;

mapping, via a controller, the sample carrier unique identifiers respectively of the sample carrier receiving regions;

processing samples carried by the sample carriers and generating signals indicative of processing results; and

associating the signals with respective sample carriers based on the mapping.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein a reader wirelessly communicates with a corresponding sample carrier.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the reader communicates with the corresponding sample carrier through a physical electrical contact.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein a sample carrier includes a sample support region that supports a sample to be processed by a sample carrier processing apparatus and storage and communications circuitry that includes an interface for communicating with a sample carrier reader.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the communication between a reader and a sample carrier is one to one.

27. A method, comprising:

obtaining first identification information from a plurality of sample carriers carrying samples for processing prior to the sample carriers being loaded into a sample processing apparatus;

mapping, with a computing device, the first identification information of each of the sample carriers to identification information corresponding to a sample carrier receiving region in which each sample carrier is loaded;

processing the samples;

obtaining second identification information from the plurality of sample carriers after the sample carriers are unloaded from the sample processing apparatus;

mapping, with the computing device, the second identification information of each of the sample carriers to the identification information corresponding to the sample carrier receiving region in which each sample carrier is loaded;

comparing the first and second identification information; and

providing a notification indicative of the comparison.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the notification indicates that the first and second identification information does not match.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the notification indicates that the first and second identification information matches.