DEVICES AND METHODS FOR PROGRAMMABLE MANIPULATION OF PIPETTES
First Claim
1. An apparatus for processing biological or chemical fluids, comprisingat least one pipette wherein said at least one pipette is configured to allow for a pipette volume to be determined by vision feedback;
- at least one mechanical arm to manipulate at least one pipette said manipulation is assisted by computer vision feedback; and
a software interface governing the manipulation of the pipettes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed generally to devices and methods for manipulating laboratory pipettes in a programmable manner. The present invention is directed to an apparatus and methods for allowing a user to instruct the device to perform a specific process; identifying the type, location and identity of the consumables to be used; manipulating a plurality of pipettes for performing the liquid handling; monitoring the process during and after its execution; generating a detailed report for the plurality of actions. Other aspects of this invention include optimization of the liquid dispensing performances of a pipette; monitoring and controlling individual actions by means of vision; virtualization of the protocol definition by means of a reality augmented software interface; integration of the system in a conventional laboratory environment workflow.
97 Citations
46 Claims
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1. An apparatus for processing biological or chemical fluids, comprising
at least one pipette wherein said at least one pipette is configured to allow for a pipette volume to be determined by vision feedback; -
at least one mechanical arm to manipulate at least one pipette said manipulation is assisted by computer vision feedback; and a software interface governing the manipulation of the pipettes. - View Dependent Claims (6, 8, 9)
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2-5. -5. (canceled)
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7. (canceled)
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10. An apparatus for processing biological or chemical fluids, comprising
a camera mounted on a moving arm and capable of imaging; - and
a deck area comprising a plurality of consumables wherein camera images of the deck area allows recognizing the consumables and localizing the arm with respect to the consumables by differential analysis of the images. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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13-14. -14. (canceled)
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20. (canceled)
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26-36. -36. (canceled)
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37. A method for improving the volumetric reproducibility of a pipette in a liquid handling android, comprising:
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actuating the thumb action for aspirating and dispensing; monitoring at least one among the thumb position, pressure and speed; and modulating at least one among the group consisting of the thumb position, pressure and speed as a function of the liquid volume and of the liquid being used. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40-44. -44. (canceled)
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45. A method for processing heterogeneous fluids comprising:
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manipulating a pipette by a liquid handling android; imaging with a camera the tip position; and imaging with a camera the separation within the fluid wherein the relative position of the tip with respect to the fluid components is used to control the manipulation of the pipette with the purpose of aspiration or dispensing of separate fluid components.
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46-62. -62. (canceled)
Specification