Compact blood culture apparatus
First Claim
1. A compact blood culture apparatus comprising:
- an incubator providing an environment for culturing,a turntable rotatable about an axis having a plurality of wells in a top surface for receiving a plurality of containers;
a mechanism for rotating said turntable about said axis;
at least one sensor station for detecting microorganism growth within each container as said turntable is rotated about said axis; and
wherein each of said plurality of wells includes an opening through the bottom of said turntable and said turntable is positioned and arranged to provide visable access to said container by said at least one sensing station through said opening.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention describes an apparatus for detecting biological activities in a large number of blood culture containers. The containers are placed in a plurality of wells arranged in concentric rows on a turntable that is rotated about a central axis. Each well is designed to receive and hold one of a plurality of sealable containers inserted base first, with each container having optical sensing means for sensing microorganisms therein and a bar code pattern attached thereto for identification purposes. Each well has an opening in its base to allow a sensor station to monitor a fluorescence chemical sensor in each container to determine whether there is microorganism growth within the container. Prior to inserting each container into a well on the turntable, a culture medium and blood specimen are introduced into the container and the bar code is scanned to identify the container. As the containers are rotated on the turntable they are exposed to conditions enabling a variety of metabolic, physical, and chemical changes to take place in the presence of microorganisms within the specimen. The apparatus also includes a door on the front that opens and permits the turntable to be loaded and unloaded from the front of the apparatus with simultaneous access to all containers.
81 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A compact blood culture apparatus comprising:
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an incubator providing an environment for culturing, a turntable rotatable about an axis having a plurality of wells in a top surface for receiving a plurality of containers; a mechanism for rotating said turntable about said axis; at least one sensor station for detecting microorganism growth within each container as said turntable is rotated about said axis; and
wherein each of said plurality of wells includes an opening through the bottom of said turntable and said turntable is positioned and arranged to provide visable access to said container by said at least one sensing station through said opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification