Method of detecting the position of a cassette and its device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of detecting and referencing the two-dimensional position of a cassette (1) in a drawer (2) comprising compartments (22) distributed according to columns (23) and rows (24), in which at least one inserted cassette (1) is positioned, the upper face turned towards the top within a compartment (22) of said drawer (2); systematic detection of all the compartments (22) is performed automatically by verifying the presence of a cassette (1); systematic detection of all the compartments (22) is performed automatically by verifying the presence of a cassette (1) within each of said compartments (22), the detection being optical and consisting in displacing an optical sight (3) relatively with respect to the top of said drawer (2) according to at least one trajectory passing through all the compartments (22); characterized in that: in the event of detection of a cassette (1) within its compartment (22), a reading of data present on said upper face is performed and said cassette (1) is identified; the two-dimensional position of said cassette (1) identified by way of the co-ordinates of its compartment (22) is referenced, according to its column (23) and its row (24); and in that: in the event of an error in detection or reading during a first pass, the detection and reading means are displaced directly to the position where the error occurrence was noted and previously recorded, without undertaking a new detection and / or a reading of all the other compartments (22).

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the medical field of tissue and cell sample analysis. [0002] More specifically, the present invention relates to the preservation and storage of such samples. Background technique [0003] Histological and / or molecular analysis may be performed on tissue or cell samples as part of a patient's medical care, or for research purposes. For preservation purposes, these samples are dehydrated and paraffin-embedded in containers commonly referred to as "cassettes". After preparation of sample sections for histological and / or molecular analysis, excess tissue and cells in paraffin still need to be preserved in order to be able to perform further analysis later (sometimes many years later). [0004] Such cassettes usually consist of a standardized cuboid-shaped box, with or without a lid, whose bottom is a hollow design with a through hole. In addition, one of the side walls, usually the front wall, has an area for marking unique i...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0015] Patent document FR2985590 discloses a system for storing and arranging embedding cassettes in the form of drawers, but it only involves the general principles of storage and detection, and does not involve any specific and preferred detection techniques

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