CONTAINER FOR IMAGING

• US 20170241897A1
• Filed: 05/05/2017
• Published: 08/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Perimeter Medical Imaging, Inc. (Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Perimeter Medical Imaging, Inc. (Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc.)
• Inventors: Berkeley, Andrew, Rempel, David, Silver, Jason, Carrillo, Rory Allen
• Application Number:
  US15/587,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20170241897A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/102 for optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02041 characterised by particular imaging or detection techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02091 Tomographic interferometers, e.g. based on optical coherence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/01 Arrangements or apparatus for facilitating the optical investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/359 using near infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/4795 spatially resolved investigating of object in scattering medium in vivo A61B

Abstract

Various embodiments of systems and methods are described herein for obtaining wide field OCT images and other types of image data from at least one portion of a sample. Various embodiments of systems and methods are described herein for assessing a degree of differentiation for a second region of an OCT image of a tissue sample with respect to another first. Various embodiments of a sample container are also described herein for containing a tissue sample and maintaining the tissue sample in a defined orientation during imaging or handling.

Claims

1. A sample container for containing a tissue sample and maintaining the tissue sample in a defined orientation, the container comprising:

an interface sleeve having one or more side walls which extend longitudinally between lower and upper open ends to define an interior volume for receiving the tissue sample, the one or more side walls collectively including a plurality of spaced apart retentive members distributed longitudinally between the lower and upper ends;

a bottom sample support having an upper surface for supporting the tissue sample, the bottom sample support being releasably engageable with the interface sleeve for selectively closing the lower end; and

a top sample support having a lower surface for supporting the tissue sample, the top sample support being sized to be received in the interior volume at a plurality of longitudinal positions corresponding to the plurality of spaced apart retentive members between the lower and upper ends of the interface sleeve, and the top sample support including one or more retentive members that are releasably engageable with the retentive members of the interface sleeve to selectively lock the top sample support at a selected one of the plurality of longitudinal positions and hold the tissue sample firmly between the lower surface of the top sample support and the upper surface of the bottom sample support.

2. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the interface sleeve is transparent to one or more imaging techniques for imaging the tissue sample in the interior volume.

3. The sample container of claim 1, further comprising orientation markers provided on one or more of the interface sleeve, the bottom sample support, and the top sample support.

4. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the retentive members of the interface sleeve comprise a plurality of locking slots, and each of the one or more retentive members of the top sample support comprises a locking pin.

5. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the retentive members of the interface sleeve comprise a plurality of spaced apart notches.

6. The sample container of claim 5, wherein each of the one or more retentive members of the top sample support comprises a latch.

7. The sample container of claim 5, wherein the one or more retentive members of the top sample support is biased outwardly toward at least one of the one or more side walls of the interface sleeve when the top sample support is received in the interface sleeve.

8. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the bottom sample support includes one or more retentive members that are releasably engageable with the retentive members of the interface sleeve.

9. The sample container of claim 8, wherein the retentive members of the interface sleeve comprise a plurality of locking slots, and each of the one or more retentive members of the bottom sample support comprises a locking pin.

10. The sample container of claim 9, wherein each of the one or more retentive members of the top sample support comprises a locking pin.

11. The sample container of claim 9, wherein the top sample support and the bottom sample support are structurally identical.

12. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the bottom sample support further comprises a foam layer that defines the upper surface of the bottom sample support.

13. The sample container of claim 1, wherein one or more of the top sample support and the bottom sample support is air permeable.

14. The sample container of claim 13, wherein one or more of the top sample support and the bottom sample support include vent holes to allow a gas or a fluid to be introduced into the sample container or removed from the container during use.

15. The sample container of claim 1, further comprising one or more lids that are releasably engageable with the interface sleeve to seal at least one end of the sample container from outside the interior volume.

16. The sample container of claim 1, wherein one or more of the lower surface of the top sample support and the upper surface of the bottom sample support is concave.

17. The sample container of claim 1, further comprising machine interface features provided on one or more of the interface sleeve, the bottom sample support and the top sample support, the machine interface features being adapted to allow the sample container to be held in place within a machine.

18. The sample container of claim 1, wherein the top sample support comprises a cam for each of the one or more retentive members of the top sample support, the cam being moveable to selectively urge the corresponding one or more retentive members into releasable engagement with at least one retentive member of the interface sleeve.

19. The sample container of claim 18, wherein the top sample support comprises a base that defines the lower surface, and each cam is rotatably coupled to the base.

20. A sample container for containing a tissue sample and maintaining the tissue sample in a defined orientation, the container comprising:

an interface sleeve having one or more side walls which extend longitudinally between lower and upper open ends to define an interior volume for receiving the tissue sample,

a bottom sample support configured to selectively close the lower end; and

a top sample support selectively lockable at a plurality of longitudinal positions between the lower and upper ends to firmly hold a tissue sample in the interior volume between the bottom sample support and the top sample support.