ASSAY SYSTEM INCLUDING ASSAY APPARATUS AND HANDHELD SINGLE USE ASSAY DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH
First Claim
1. An assay device for enabling ElectroMagnetic Radiation (EMR) examination of a bodily specimen at at least one predetermined EMR spectrum, the assay device having an upright assay device centerline and a horizontal longitudinal assay device centerline perpendicular to the upright assay device centerline, the assay device comprising:
- (a) a cartridge housing having a cartridge housing top face, a cartridge housing bottom face opposite said cartridge housing top face, and a cartridge housing peripheral face between said cartridge housing top face and said cartridge housing bottom face to bound a cartridge housing interior,said cartridge housing top face and said cartridge housing bottom face being transverse to the upright assay device centerline and said cartridge housing peripheral face being co-directional with the upright assay device centerline,said cartridge housing having a specimen introduction port for enabling introduction of bodily specimen into said cartridge housing interior; and
(b) a specimen slide snugly accommodated in said cartridge housing interior and capable of sliding elevation from an initial lowermost specimen introduction position in an unused assay device to a final uppermost specimen examination position in an used assay device correspondingly remote from and adjacent said cartridge housing top face,said specimen slide being intimately juxtaposed against said cartridge housing top face in said final uppermost specimen examination position for compressing at least some bodily specimen between said specimen slide and said cartridge housing top face subsequent to bodily specimen being deposited on said specimen slide in said initial lowermost specimen introduction position,the assay device having a line of examination through said cartridge housing and said specimen slide wherein said line of examination is co-directional with the upright assay device centerline for enabling examination of said compressed at least some bodily specimen at the at least one predetermined EMR spectrum.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Assay systems including assay apparatus and handheld assay devices for use therewith for obtaining diagnostic information of a bodily specimen. Assay devices include a cartridge housing snugly accommodating a specimen slide intended for elevation from an initial lowermost specimen introduction position to a final uppermost specimen examination position in which a bodily specimen is compressed between a cartridge housing top face and a specimen slide. Assay devices preferably include a liquid reagent dispensing arrangement for dispensing liquid reagent on a specimen slide for reacting with a bodily specimen.
-
Citations
28 Claims
-
1. An assay device for enabling ElectroMagnetic Radiation (EMR) examination of a bodily specimen at at least one predetermined EMR spectrum, the assay device having an upright assay device centerline and a horizontal longitudinal assay device centerline perpendicular to the upright assay device centerline, the assay device comprising:
-
(a) a cartridge housing having a cartridge housing top face, a cartridge housing bottom face opposite said cartridge housing top face, and a cartridge housing peripheral face between said cartridge housing top face and said cartridge housing bottom face to bound a cartridge housing interior, said cartridge housing top face and said cartridge housing bottom face being transverse to the upright assay device centerline and said cartridge housing peripheral face being co-directional with the upright assay device centerline, said cartridge housing having a specimen introduction port for enabling introduction of bodily specimen into said cartridge housing interior; and (b) a specimen slide snugly accommodated in said cartridge housing interior and capable of sliding elevation from an initial lowermost specimen introduction position in an unused assay device to a final uppermost specimen examination position in an used assay device correspondingly remote from and adjacent said cartridge housing top face, said specimen slide being intimately juxtaposed against said cartridge housing top face in said final uppermost specimen examination position for compressing at least some bodily specimen between said specimen slide and said cartridge housing top face subsequent to bodily specimen being deposited on said specimen slide in said initial lowermost specimen introduction position, the assay device having a line of examination through said cartridge housing and said specimen slide wherein said line of examination is co-directional with the upright assay device centerline for enabling examination of said compressed at least some bodily specimen at the at least one predetermined EMR spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. Assay apparatus for use with the handheld assay device for diagnostic purposes of a bodily specimen, the assay device enabling ElectroMagnetic Radiation (EMR) examination of the bodily specimen at at least one predetermined EMR wavelength, the assay device having an upright assay device centerline and a horizontal longitudinal assay device centerline perpendicular to the upright assay device centerline, the assay device having:
-
(a) a cartridge housing including a cartridge housing top face, a cartridge housing bottom face opposite said cartridge housing top face, and a cartridge housing peripheral face between said cartridge housing top face and said cartridge housing bottom face to bound a cartridge housing interior, the cartridge housing having a specimen introduction port for enabling introduction of bodily specimen into the cartridge housing interior, the cartridge housing bottom face including at least one throughgoing aperture for providing access to the cartridge housing interior, (b) a specimen slide snugly accommodated in said cartridge housing interior and slidingly deployable from an initial lowermost specimen introduction position in an unused assay device to a final uppermost specimen examination position in an used assay device, the initial lowermost specimen introduction position and the final uppermost specimen examination position correspondingly remote from and adjacent the cartridge housing top face, the specimen slide being intimately juxtaposed against the cartridge housing top face in the final uppermost specimen examination position for compressing at least some bodily specimen between the specimen slide and the cartridge housing top face subsequent to a bodily specimen being deposited on the specimen slide in the initial lowermost specimen introduction position, the assay device having a line of examination through the cartridge housing and the specimen slide wherein the line of examination is co-directional with the upright assay device centerline for enabling examination of the compressed at least some bodily specimen at the at least one predetermined EMR spectrum; (c) a built-in liquid reagent dispensing arrangement for dispensing a liquid reagent on the specimen slide, the built-in liquid reagent dispensing arrangement including a longitudinal directed barrel lateral to the horizontal longitudinal assay device centerline, the barrel including an exposed leading seal, a trailing seal and liquid reagent between the leading seal and the trailing seal, the barrel having a liquid reagent dispensing port for dispensing liquid reagent on the specimen slide for reacting with bodily specimen deposited thereon, the leading seal and the trailing seal having an initial pre-liquid reagent dispensing position in an unused assay device and a final post-liquid reagent dispensing position in an used assay device, the trailing seal being urged past the liquid reagent dispensing port on being urged from the initial pre-liquid reagent dispensing position to the final post-liquid dispensing position, the assay apparatus comprises; (a) apparatus housing including; i) a tray having a tray pocket for snugly interchangeably receiving an assay device, and ii) a motorized arrangement for linear reciprocation of said tray between an outermost position relative to said apparatus housing for interchanging an assay device and an innermost position relative to said apparatus housing; (b) a plunger for insertion into an assay device'"'"'s barrel for dispensing liquid reagent onto a bodily specimen; (c) a specimen slide elevation member for insertion through an assay device'"'"'s underside throughgoing aperture for urging its specimen slide from its initial lowermost specimen introduction position to its final uppermost specimen examination position; (d) a digital image acquisition arrangement for obtaining digital images of at least a bodily specimen contained in an assay device; and (e) a controller for controlling at least said motorized arrangement and said digital image acquisition arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
Specification