Micromanipulation system comprising a protective system for capillaries

Abstract

A manipulation system for microscope applications comprises a micromanipulation tool (1) and a protective device (2) protecting the tool, wherein the tool (1) and the protective device (2) are movable relative to one another between a position protecting the tool in a contactless manner and a position releasing the tool for the manipulation.

Description

[0001]The present invention relates to a manipulation system for microscope applications, in particular a manipulation system with a protective device for capillaries used in the micromanipulation of biological material.PRIOR ART[0002]The molecular analysis of pure enriched cell cultures or even individual cells is an important prerequisite of medical genomics and proteomics, and could become extremely important in the future for medical profiling of patients. Hitherto this objective could be achieved only with difficulty and took a not inconsiderable amount of time on account of mechanical and also process technology restrictions in the cell manipulation (e.g. the cell collection or microinjection). In particular the isolation of individual as well as unusual cells from minute samples that is necessary for the genotype and phenotype characterization proved to be very difficult, since individual cells had to be detected under a microscope by research staff and the detected cell then...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a manipulation system for microscope applications which includes a micromanipulation tool and a protective device for the tool. The tool and protective device can move relative to each other between a position protecting the tool and a position releasing the tool for manipulation. The protective device does not contact the tool in its protective position, which is important for sensitive micromanipulation tools such as capillaries. This system allows for quicker and more efficient operation in the replacement of capillaries, installation or maintenance, and also provides increased working space, reduced weight, installation space, increased reliability, and safety.

Problems solved by technology

Hitherto this objective could be achieved only with difficulty and took a not inconsiderable amount of time on account of mechanical and also process technology restrictions in the cell manipulation (e.g. the cell collection or microinjection).

In particular the isolation of individual as well as unusual cells from minute samples that is necessary for the genotype and phenotype characterization proved to be very difficult, since individual cells had to be detected under a microscope by research staff and the detected cell then had to be manipulated manually with the aid of capillaries.

However, all these procedures suffer from the inherent danger that the micromanipulation tool will be damaged during its displacement or the user will be injured by the tool.

In particular fragile capillaries suffer from this danger as manipulation tools.

A general problem therefore arises in that after installing the tool the micromanipulation system has to be recalibrated once more.

With both these protective caps there is the problem that a mechanical load is exerted on the cannula and the injection needle, which in the case of molecular tools such as for example capillaries could lead to their breakage, and therefore they cannot be used for such purposes.

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