A device for distributing microbial culture medium at a specific temperature with alarm capability in a laboratory environment.

Abstract

The production of culture media is one of the most important activities of medical diagnostic and research laboratories, which is prepared in different types and distributed in different laboratory containers. The creation of contamination in the culture media can affect the medical diagnosis of a clinical sample, so the sterility of the microbial culture media is of great importance. Therefore, we decided to design the microbial culture media distributor in a way that both prevents damage and pressure on the technician during the act of dividing the microbial culture media and ensures an accurate and contamination-free division process. The device in question automatically divides the culture medium at a specific temperature and has an alarm system for the operator to control the process. It also has a system that makes the process of dividing the culture medium possible in any type of laboratory container.

Description

Description of the invention Title of the invention A device that distributes microbial culture medium at a specific temperature with alarm capability in the laboratory environment. Technical background of the relevant invention This invention is in the field of microbial culture medium dispensing devices that provide the ability to transfer and distribute culture medium into various laboratory containers at a constant temperature. Technical problem and stating the objectives of the invention Making culture media is one of the most important activities of medical and research diagnostic laboratories, which is prepared in various types and distributed in various laboratory containers. These culture media are used to cultivate various bacteria and fungi, so that the presence or absence of a bacterium or fungus in a laboratory sample is detected in this way, which ultimately affects the diagnosis of a specific infectious disease. A certain amount of culture medium liquid is distributed in laboratory containers, which is a standard amount. Currently, the preparation and distribution of culture media in laboratories is carried out by the operator in such a way that, according to the instructions on the containers containing the culture media powder, a certain amount of powder and distilled water are mixed together in laboratory containers, which are usually Erlenmeyer flasks, and heated until the powder is completely dissolved in the water. Then the lid is closed and it is placed in an autoclave for sterilization. This device completely sterilizes the culture medium liquid at a temperature of 120 degrees and for a specific time, then it is delivered to the laboratory for distribution.The best starting temperature for the distribution process is 45 degrees Celsius, which cannot be accurately determined in the laboratory, and the distribution process may be performed at a temperature higher or lower than 45 degrees, which in both cases causes problems. If the distribution temperature is higher than 45 degrees, water vapor will accumulate in the containers during distribution, which causes contamination. If the distribution temperature is lower than 45 degrees, it is said that the culture medium liquid closes its own distribution until the end of the distribution process. During distribution, which is done manually by the operator, the liquid may spill on the hands and cause burns. In addition, a flame should be used during distribution to reduce contamination, which can also cause risks. Depending on the needs of the laboratory, a large volume of culture medium may be requested, and its distribution may cause damage to the operator's hands over time due to the heaviness of the Erlenmeyer flask. On the other hand, manual distribution of the culture medium liquid does not allow an accurate amount to be distributed in each container.Another problem is that if the target containers are laboratory tubes, distribution into them must be done by another container called a "pipettor". Transferring liquid from the pipettor may increase contamination in the culture medium. For some culture media, such as blood agar, the time of adding blood to the agar medium and the speed of distribution of the culture medium are of great importance. The aim of the present design is to solve the aforementioned problems by means of a microbial culture medium distribution device that is placed in the laboratory environment. A description of the state of the prior art and the history of developments related to the claimed invention. In the patent number CN216834379 in 2022, entitled "Semi-automatic quantitative split charging device of microbial liquid culture medium for laboratory", a semi-automatic culture medium dividing device is introduced, which has a liquid storage source for the culture medium and a fixed column on which other components are mounted. In the claimed design, an automatic arm with adjustable height is considered instead of the fixed column. Also, the device is directly connected to the container containing the culture medium and there is no need to transfer the liquid to the tank. Patent number CN213467844 in 2021 shows a "range-adjustable pipettor". This device is responsible for monitoring the temperature of the culture medium and transferring it manually, and shows the temperature of the culture medium on the display at any time. In the claimed design, the transfer of the culture medium is performed automatically at a preset temperature. Patent No. CN215050131 in 2021, entitled "Microbial culture medium filling equipment", shows a device that has a culture medium storage tank and a stirrer that is connected to a culture medium distribution system and transfers the culture medium only to the laboratory plate. The claimed design also considers other laboratory containers required in the process of preparing the microbial culture medium. Patent number CN208762483 in 2019 entitled "Can heat retaining culture medium ration empty filling device" is a device that has a container for storing culture medium and a control valve that maintains the temperature of the culture medium at a constant value. In the claimed design, there is no tank for the culture medium, but it is directly connected to the Erlenmeyer flask, and the process of dividing the culture medium is automatic. Patent number CN206438135 in 2017 entitled "Automatic partial shipment device of culture medium" shows a device that has a suction pump, hose and flow divider and is divided by sucking the solution and passing it through the hose with a certain volume. In the claimed design, various laboratory containers are considered for division and for this reason the height of the divider arm is adjustable, so the culture medium can be transferred to any container of any height. Providing a solution to an existing technical problem along with an accurate, sufficient, and integrated description of the invention In order to facilitate the distribution of culture medium liquid in various laboratory containers under sterile conditions and at a specific temperature, we decided to design a device that has the aforementioned capabilities. The present invention is a device that is ready to perform the desired process after turning it on. The Erlenmeyer flask (21) or any container containing culture medium liquid that has just been removed from the autoclave is connected to one of the inlets (3) of the device by a tube. The device includes two inlets, and if necessary, the second inlet is connected to another container containing complementary liquid. In this way, the construction and distribution of vessel environments such as blood agar containing basic culture medium and complementary blood is easily done. The culture medium is passed through the liquid delivery tube (8) by the suction pump (7) of the device and then reaches the body of the device. Finally, it is transferred to the desired laboratory containers by the nozzle tube (14).The movement of the nozzle arm (18) is carried out by a DC motor (13) that allows 360-degree rotation. In order to provide a greater degree of freedom for the movement of the nozzle section with high precision and also to provide greater control when filling the laboratory containers with the culture medium liquid, two servomotors (20) that are connected to each other by means of the arms play a role. In order to accurately obtain the distance between the nozzle opening and the opening of the laboratory containers and also to measure the volume of the culture medium liquid poured into the containers, a 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi camera connected to the vertical base of the robot (15) is used for imaging and image processing. Also, another 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi camera connected to the horizontal base of the robot (16) is installed to identify the shape and size of the entrance door of the laboratory containers and also to accurately pour the culture medium liquid into the containers. A rotating plate with telescopic or lens-like positions (21-detail B) is provided to accommodate laboratory vessels of any shape and size, while holding the vessel in place.The device in question has a non-contact thermometer sensor Mlx90614 (17) and is installed in front of the Erlenmeyer flask and on the vertical stand (4). When the temperature of the culture medium liquid inside the Erlenmeyer flask reaches the expected temperature (usually 45 degrees), a warning is given by the speaker (11) and the culture medium division process is carried out automatically. Since some information such as displaying the desired temperature and ... needs to be displayed, a display screen (12) is installed. Programming and control of all components of the device in question is done by the Raspberry Pi 4 programming board (10). Explanation of shapes, maps and diagrams Figure 1) This figure shows the upper part of the robot arm. Figure 2) This figure shows the robot arm connecting the upper and lower parts of the arm. Figure 3) This figure shows the liquid inlet chamber. Figure 4) This figure shows the cylindrical body of the robotic arm of the lower part of the device. Figure 5) This figure shows the part attached to the laboratory table. Figure 6) This figure shows the bolts and nuts necessary to connect the mechanical and electronic components to the robot body. Figure 7) This figure shows the culture medium liquid suction pump. Figure 8) This figure shows the tube that delivers the culture medium liquid. Figure 9) This figure shows the mechanical and electronic part connected to the robot nozzle for accurate filling of laboratory containers. Figure 10) This figure shows the Raspberry Pi 4 programming board for programming and guiding (arm, nozzle, cameras, non-contact thermometer sensor, monitor, etc.). Figure 11) This figure shows the speaker. Figure 12) This figure shows the information display screen. Figure 13) This figure shows the DC motor used to move the nozzle arm. Figure 14) This figure shows the nozzle tube. Figure 15) This figure shows a 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi camera attached to a vertical stand. Figure 16) This figure shows the 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi camera attached to the robot's horizontal base. Figure 17) This figure shows the Mlx90614 sensor, which is a non-contact thermometer sensor for obtaining the temperature of the culture medium liquid. Figure 18) This figure shows the nozzle arm. Figure 19) This figure shows the overall and three-dimensional view of the robotic arm of the device along with three main views. Figure 20) This figure shows a three-dimensional and overall view of the nozzle of the device, along with a front view (and a cutaway view of the front view of Section AA), a top view consisting of a DC motor for 360-degree rotation along with 2 servo motors connected by arms to move and provide greater degrees of freedom of the nozzle arm for high precision and greater control over filling containers with the desired liquid. Figure 21) This figure shows a three-dimensional and general view of the inventive process and also shows the Erlenmeyer flask connected to the device by a tube: Datail A: Indicates the display of the monitor or screen. Detail B: Includes a nozzle for transferring the culture medium liquid to the desired container, for filling the liquid, and a telescopic section or opening (or similar to a camera lens frame) so that any container of any shape and size can be accommodated in it, so that this lid locks around the desired container. Datail C: Shows the speaker view for the desired announcements. Datail D: The nozzle section of the device, which has three degrees of freedom and is used to fill containers with culture medium liquid. A clear and precise statement of the advantages of the claimed invention over prior inventions. The device in question is a device designed to distribute culture medium liquids in various laboratory containers at a specific temperature and under sterile conditions. The device includes a non-contact thermometer sensor that allows for accurate measurement of the temperature of the liquid inside the Erlenmeyer flask without hand contact with the Erlenmeyer flask body. Estimating the temperature of the liquid inside the Erlenmeyer flask in the laboratory is routinely done by direct hand contact with the Erlenmeyer flask body, which is not accurate and as a result, sometimes the start of the culture medium liquid distribution is not done at the right time. Instead of dividing the culture medium liquid by hand and preventing damage from it, this process is done by the nozzle and its arm. The freedom of the nozzle arm is such that it can move freely 360 degrees, so that even if the rotating plate is not used, we can easily divide the culture medium into containers. The cameras built into the device play an important role in the accuracy of the nozzle operation. By imaging and image processing, they determine exactly how far the nozzle opening is from the opening of the laboratory container and play a role in pouring a specific volume of culture medium liquid into the exact place. In this way, the culture medium liquid is not wasted and the accuracy of the nozzle operation does not differ for different laboratory containers. The Erlenmeyer flask is directly connected to the culture medium dispenser, so there is no need for a separate tank to store freshly sterilized culture medium, and as a result, the culture medium is exposed to less environmental contamination. The sterility of the culture medium in the laboratory is of great importance because real patient samples are cultured on them and ultimately play a role in the diagnosis of diseases. The positions located on the rotating plate are in a way that opens and closes like a camera lens and has the ability to accommodate and hold laboratory containers of different sizes and shapes. This is important because different containers are used to prepare culture media for different diagnostic purposes in medical diagnostic and research laboratories. In this way, we will not need a rack to hold test tubes when dividing the culture media. Since some culture media, such as blood agar, are made from a combination of two materials, this device includes a chamber with two inlets to allow the two materials to be combined at the appropriate temperature. Every automatic device, despite its precise operation, still requires an operator to monitor it. For this purpose, a loudspeaker is built into the device to alert the technician when the liquid inside the Erlenmeyer flask reaches the desired temperature. The operator also has the ability to activate the loudspeaker at any stage by giving specific programs to the device. A display is provided for the device to display the desired information, including the Erlenmeyer flask temperature, and all device settings are also displayed on this display. Description of at least one implementation method for implementing the invention This microbial culture medium divider device is placed on the laboratory table. The device is connected to the power supply and then turned on. When the freshly sterilized culture medium is removed from the autoclave, the Erlenmeyer flask containing it is connected to the device, and the non-contact thermometer sensor alerts when the desired temperature is reached to start the distribution process. Then the operator gives the device the command to start and make other desired settings, and the device automatically performs the process of dividing the culture medium into laboratory containers as mentioned. Explicit mention of the industrial application of the invention The project in question is in the field of laboratory equipment.

Claims

Claim What is claimed: Claim 1) What is claimed is a device that divides the microbial culture medium: - A connecting tube that connects the Erlenmeyer flask to the device. - A chamber with two inlets to which the connecting tube from the Erlenmeyer flask or other containers is connected. - A cylindrical base on which the device assembly is mounted. - A suction pump located at the beginning of the transfer tube. - The transfer tube is connected to the inlet chamber on one side and to the body of the device on the other side. - The body of the device - A plate that connects the upper part of the cylindrical base to the lower part of the body. - A display screen - A DC motor located above the nozzle arm. - Two servomotors located in the structure of the nozzle arm. - A nozzle tube connected to the end of the nozzle arm. - A rotating plate - Laboratory vessel holders located on the rotating plate. -Two 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi cameras -Mlx90614 non-contact thermometer sensor -Speaker -Raspberry Pi 4 programming board -Part connected to the lab table -Bolts and nuts connecting the mechanical and electronic parts to the robot body Claim 2) According to claim 1, the contents inside the Erlenmeyer flask pass directly through the connecting tube by the suction pump and reach the inlet chamber. Claim 3) According to claim 1, two inlets are provided for the inlet chamber to allow simultaneous transfer of two liquids. Claim 4) According to claim 1, the cylindrical base is the support and common connection point of the other parts. Claim 5) According to claim 1, a suction pump is located at the outlet of the inlet chamber and at the beginning of the transfer pipe to suck the liquid and transfer it to the body. Claim 6) According to claim 1, the nozzle arm includes a DC motor, two servomotors, and other connections that are connected to the body of the device on one side and to the nozzle tube on the other side. Claim 7) According to claims 1 and 6, the DC motor allows 360-degree rotation of the nozzle arm. Claim 8) According to claims 1, 6 and 7, two servomotors together with a DC motor provide 3 degrees of freedom of movement for the nozzle arm. Claim 9) According to claim 1, the nozzle tube is responsible for transferring the culture medium from the device to the laboratory containers. Claim 10) According to claim 1, the laboratory container stands are telescopic or camera lens-like for fixing various containers therein. Claim 11) According to claims 1 and 10, the rotating plate has laboratory container positions that rotate to the size of the next container position as each container is filled. Claim 12) According to claim 1, two 12-megapixel cameras, one located on a horizontal stand and the other on a vertical stand, determine information related to the volume required for transfer, the size of the opening of the laboratory containers, and the exact location of the culture medium. Claim 13) According to claim 1, 4 sensors of the Mlx90614 non-contact thermometer, which is located on a cylindrical base and opposite the Erlenmeyer flask containing the culture medium, report the instantaneous temperature of the Erlenmeyer flask contents on the display screen. Claim 14) According to claims 1 and 13, a loudspeaker is provided for necessary warnings related to temperature and other settings. When the non-contact thermometer measures the desired temperature, it is displayed on the display screen and the loudspeaker gives a warning. Claim 15) According to claim 1, the transfer tube, the display screen, the nozzle arm and the connection screen are connected to the body. Claim 16) According to claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14, the Raspberry Pi 4 programming board is embedded for the purpose of programming and controlling all functional components of the device.

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