129results about "Cryostats" patented technology

An automated storage and retrieval system for storing chemical and biological samples includes freezer chests maintained at an ultra-low temperature (e.g. −80° C.) or a cryogenic temperature. The freezer chests are located within a refrigerated (e.g. −20° C.) enclosure. Samples are loaded through a wall of the enclosure and are then transferred to an input/output buffer section in an ultra-low temperature or cryogenic freezer chest that is thermally segregated from a long-term storage section in the same freezer. Specialized input/output cassettes are used for transferring the samples through an input/output module into the system.

A cassette puller for an automated storage and retrieval system that stores biological or chemical samples in freezers maintained at ultra-low temperature (e.g., −80° C.) or cryogenic temperatures includes a vertical sleeve into which the selected cassette is lifted. The cassette puller is mounted to a traveling gantry and transports cassettes from one freezer location to another and to the system input/output module, and also includes an ejection mechanism that inserts and retrieves tube storage racks or plates from a selected shelf on the cassette. Other components such as a rack robot, a tube picking mechanism, a sample identification station, etc. are mounted on the traveling gantry as well.

A system and method for concurrently and uniformly removing thermal energy from a specimen sample. A thermal insulating device is provided comprising an insulating material, the device having a plurality of chambers for receiving specimen samples, the device further includes a thermal ballast whereby the rate of thermal energy removal is controlled and influenced by the thermal ballast.

An improved cryogenic specimen holder for imaging and analysis facilitates imaging at very high tilt angles with a large field of view. A retractable specimen holder tip protects the specimen during transport. An optimized Dewar design is positioned at a fixed, tilted angle with respect to the axis of the holder, providing a means of continuously cooling the specimen irrespective of the high tilt angle and amount of liquid nitrogen present in the vessel. The Dewar neck design reduces entrapment of nitrogen gas bubbles and its shape prevents the spilling of liquid nitrogen at high tilt angles. The specimen holder has a retractable tip that completely encapsulates the specimen within a shielded environment internal to the specimen holder body. The cooling and specimen transfer mechanisms reduce thermal drift and the detrimental effects of vibrations generated by both the evaporation of liquid nitrogen present in the Dewar and other environmental effects.

A system and method for concurrently and uniformly removing thermal energy from a specimen sample. A thermal insulating device is provided comprising an insulating material, the device having a plurality of chambers for receiving specimen samples, the device further includes a thermal ballast whereby the rate of thermal energy removal is controlled and influenced by the thermal ballast.

A cryopreservation storage and processing container for cryogenic material is disclosed. In one embodiment, the container can be used to cryopreserve and store biological specimens at cryogenic temperature but also can be used directly in centrifuges or microcentrifuges to process biological materials. It incorporates the functions of both storage container and centrifuge tubes, provides self-sealing mechanism, and accommodates higher cooling/warming rates. The storage container includes both a vessel body 14 and a cap 12.

A method and system for controlled rate freezing and nucleation of biological materials is provided. The presently disclosed system and method provides the ability to rapidly cool the materials contained in vials or other containers within a cooling unit via forced convective cooling and optionally simultaneous pressure drop using uniform and unidirectional flow of cryogen in proximity to the plurality of vials disposed within a cooling unit. The rapid cooling of the biological materials is achieved by precisely controlling and adjusting the temperature of the cryogen being introduced to the system as well as the chamber pressure as a function of time.

The storage comprises, from the bottom to the top, a low temperature storage zone, for storing the samples, a handling zone, housing at least part of an automatic transport device, and an access zone, where the user can enter for maintenance. A separating wall consisting of removable panels insulates the access zone, for the rooms below it. A peripheral housing, contains a peripheral chamber for temporarily storing the samples at slightly higher temperatures. A liquid nitrogen container, is used to feed dry gas to the storage zone and to maintain it under slight overpressure for preventing the entry of moisture.

A method of maintaining a thermal history (369; 699) of samples stored in a temperature-controlled sample storage system is provided. The system can include: one or more containers (218, 220; 522) each storing one of the samples; one or more storage objects (210-216, 208; 510, 516-518, 520; 654-660, 662) each housing one or more containers or other storage objects; one or more structures (200-206; 512; 650) defining a temperature-controlled storage environment and housing the one or more storage objects; machine readable tags (14) each of which is associated with a separate container and storage object, each tag encoding an identification code and having a temperature-dependant characteristic; and an interrogator (12) for reading the identification code and the temperature-dependant characteristic.

With the object of realizing a microchip that allows drying and fixing of a substance that is the object of analysis in a shorter time while maintaining the separation capabilities of a separation operation, a microchip used to implement a separation operation of an analysis sample without contamination or spillage is composed of a substrate and a cover, the substrate being provided with a trench-shaped channel in its upper surface and substrate reservoirs that are linked with this channel, and the cover hermetically sealing the upper surface of the channel, attachable to or detachable from the substrate, and provided with through-holes formed at positions corresponding to the substrate reservoirs, cover reservoirs that are formed on the inner sides of the through-holes for holding liquid that is introduced when the cover is in the state of hermetically sealing the upper surface of the channel, and partitions that are formed on the bottom surfaces of the cover reservoirs. The areas of the openings of the partitions are smaller than the areas of the openings of the cover reservoirs that are over the partitions.

Cryogenic devices are provided in which solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) is used to maintain a temperature zone in which samples can be manipulated under conditions in which the sample is maintained at a temperature below −50 C.

The present invention discloses sample thawing devices, systems, and methods, that are configured to take bag-format sample vessels, referred to as “cryobags”, and to thaw the contents of such cryobags. The contents of such cryobags are samples with cells, and the thawing of such samples is based on the temperature, volume, and mass of the sample in order to evenly distribute heat and avoid ice crystallization damage to the cells during thawing. Paired heater plates form an assembly configured to support, clamp, and thaw individual cryobags. The heater plate pair has an articulated member that is repositioning to provide for ease in inserting and removing samples.

A container includes a vial, cap, and one or more wireless transponders secured to the cap, the vial or a jacket to store and identify samples of biological material at cryogenic temperatures (e.g., vitrified biological samples), for instance held by cryopreservation storage devices. A specimen holder may be extend from the cap. The vial and/or cap includes ports or vents. A carrier includes a box, thermal shunt, thermal insulation to store and identify arrays of containers that hold cryopreservation storage devices with samples of biological material at cryogenic temperatures. Various apparatus include wireless transponders positioned and oriented to enhance range, and allow interrogation while retained in a carrier. Various apparatus can maintain the biological material at or close to cryogenic temperatures for prolonged period of times after being removed from a cryogenic cooler, and can allow wireless inventorying while maintaining the biological samples at suitably cold temperatures.

A box mapper has (i) a frame configured to receive a sample box of RFID-tagged sample vials and (ii) a set of antennae configured to read the vial RFID tags of the sample vials to determine the identity and position of each sample vial in the sample box. In one embodiment, the set of antennae include two mutually orthogonal subsets of biphase digit antennae.

A rack for providing a lower cost solution for manufacturing and shipping is disclosed. The rack, suitable for use in freezer or cooling components comprises a top element, a bottom element and side elements between said top and bottom elements, linearly arranged, wherein three of said elements are joined together at corresponding edges with a flexible hinge mechanism, a joining mechanism including a catching mechanism and a connecting mechanism, said joining mechanism retaining adjacent ones of said elements in a substantially perpendicular arrangement, each of said elements including at least one of said catching mechanism and said connecting mechanism and adjacent ones of said elements contain alternate ones of said catching mechanism and said connecting mechanism; and a back element linearly attached with a flexible hinge mechanism along an edge of each of said side elements, wherein said back element includes a snap fit retaining mechanism along a top end and a bottom end of each edge.

A storage system having racks and an outer container that receives the racks, each rack receiving a plurality of sample boxes, each box having a wireless ID tag. In certain embodiments, the storage system has reader electronics external to and distinct from the racks and that directly read the wireless ID tag of each box in at least one rack without relying on any reader electronics of any rack. In other embodiments, each rack has a set of rack reader electronics that read the wireless ID tag of each box in at least one rack, and the storage system has at least one removable reader access device removably connectable to the set of rack reader electronics of a rack in order to transmit the ID number of the wireless ID tag of each box in the rack outside of the outer container.

The invention relates to a clinical lab anti-pollution sample storage device, which comprises a storage cabinet. A cabinet door is arranged on the outer side of the storage cabinet; a seal ring is arranged on the inner side of the cabinet door; the storage cabinet comprises an inner layer and an outer layer; a cavity is arranged between the outer layer and the inner layer; a water inlet is formed in one side of the upper part of the outer layer; a water outlet is formed in one side of the lower part of the outer layer; the water outlet and the water inlet are communicated with the cavity; a first heat insulation cover is arranged on the water inlet; a second heat insulation cover is arranged on the water outlet; an inclined block is arranged in the cavity; slideways are correspondingly arranged at two sides in the storage cabinet; a test tube stand placement rack is arranged between the corresponding slideways at two sides; a first tray and a second tray are arranged in the storage cabinet; a non-slip mat is arranged on the bottom part of the storage cabinet. When the clinical lab anti-pollution sample storage device provided by the invention is used for storing checking samples at low temperature, the hygiene and the quality are ensured; through arranging a heat insulation layer, the storage time of the samples in the lower temperature environment is prolonged, the insulation layer can play a better role in insulation, and the samples in the storage cabinet are prevented from being polluted.

An apparatus for the polymerization of biological specimens in the context of cryosubstitution is disclosed. Also disclosed is the use of diodes having UV components for the polymerization of biological specimens in the context of cryosubstitution. A cooled chamber (6) is provided, in which at least one specimen carrier (2) having a biological specimen (4) is received. At least one diode (7), which emits light having UV components and is arranged in such a way that the light is directed onto the biological specimens (4), is mounted on a constituent part (9) of the cooling apparatus (5).