A long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs

Abstract

The invention discloses a long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs, including a suction cup, an airway and an airtight cap. The suction cup is provided with a through adsorption hole, the upper end opening of the adsorption hole is sealed with a glass slide, and the lower end is embedded in the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of the experimental animal; the airway is provided with a first end and a second end, the first end is connected to the adsorption hole, and the second end is detachably connected to a negative pressure source, the negative pressure source works to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole, and the animal internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole and closely attached to the glass slide; the airtight cap is detachably connected to the second end. The invention uses an airtight cap to isolate the outside world and the internal organs during observation when it is not suitable or during the observation interval, and uses negative pressure to partially suck the internal organs into the adsorption hole during observation. The negative pressure can avoid changes in the focal plane under the microscope and motion artifacts, and improve the stability of observation and detection; the observed part of the internal organs is adjusted by negative pressure, and the field of view is changed within a certain range; and the survival rate of animals in long-term continuous experiments is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of animal experimental devices, and in particular to a long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs. Background Art

[0002] Animal experiments are of great significance to the advancement of medicine and are indispensable in disease prevention and treatment, drug development, and medical equipment development. A considerable number of animal experiments require surgical operations to open the chest or abdominal cavity of the experimental animals and continuously observe the internal organs of the experimental animals. The chest cavity is a natural negative pressure closed environment, and thoracotomy is more traumatic to animals, which also makes it difficult to observe the internal organs of the chest cavity for a long time. In the past, observations of the internal organs of the chest cavity were mainly at a single short-term level, but when monitoring changes in organ tissues under certain physiological or pathological conditions and during the course of the disease, long-term and multiple observations are often extremely important.

[0003] In recent years, studies have been conducted to penetrate the intercostal space of the mouse chest multiple times (to ensure the survival of the mouse, multiple continuous penetrations in a short period of time cannot be achieved), to absorb and briefly photograph the heart through a negative pressure endoscope device, and to image the lungs for a long time and multiple times in a fixed field of view by gluing the lungs to the glass slide of the lung window with biological glue. These attempts have greatly promoted the long-term imaging of the thoracic organs of living small animals. However, there are also some shortcomings, such as a small imaging field of view, multiple surgical traumas, a long interval between multiple imaging of the heart, limited to slower moving visceral organs, and the inability to change the bonded field of view, which seriously affects the correct evaluation of the physiological functions of visceral organs and changes in pathological processes.

[0004] It can be seen that the existing long-term imaging devices for animal internal organs have problems such as poor stability, fixed field of view and low survival rate during continuous observation. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that the current long-term imaging device for animal internal organs has the problems of poor stability, field fixation and low survival rate of continuous time observation.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs, comprising:

[0007] The suction cup is provided with a through suction hole, the upper end opening of the suction hole is sealed to set a glass slide, and the lower end is embedded in the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of the experimental animal;

[0008] An airway is provided with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the adsorption hole, and the second end is detachably connected to a negative pressure source, and the negative pressure source operates to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole, and the animal's internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole and closely attached to the glass slide; and,

[0009] An airtight cap is detachably connected to the second end.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, a slot is provided on the periphery of the suction cup, and the slot is adapted to fit the ribs of the experimental animal.

[0011] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, pedestals are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the suction cup radially outwardly of the adsorption hole, the slot is formed between the two pedestals, and the outer peripheral shape of the pedestals is set to be a polygon.

[0012] Or further, in the above embodiment, the card slot includes a first slot, a second slot and a third slot, the first slot and the second slot are connected by the third slot, the first slot and the second slot are both straight slots, and the extension lines of the first slot and the second slot form an angle, and the angle is an acute angle.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, a limiting portion is provided in the adsorption hole, and the limiting portion and the inner wall of the adsorption hole form a limiting area to prevent the retraction of internal organs.

[0014] Further, in the above embodiment, the limiting portion is arranged along the circumference of the inner wall of the adsorption hole, and the end of the limiting portion extends toward an oblique upward direction, and the lower end opening of the adsorption hole forms a trapezoidal hole.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the axial direction of the air channel is perpendicular to the axial direction of the adsorption hole.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the upper opening of the adsorption hole is provided with a step, and the glass slide is fixedly connected to the step.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, a fixing member is further included, and the fixing member is detachably connected between the second end and the negative pressure source, and a channel is provided inside the fixing member.

[0018] Further, in the above embodiment, the radius of the channel is larger than that of the airway.

[0019] It can be seen from the above technical scheme that, compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the long-term imaging device for animal internal organs of the present application are: the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of a living small animal is opened by surgery, and then the lower end of the adsorption hole is embedded in the abdominal cavity or chest cavity, and the upper end of the adsorption hole is sealed with a glass slide, and the negative pressure source works to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole, and the animal's internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole and close to the glass slide. At this time, the internal organs can be detected and observed through a microscope, and images can be obtained for analysis and evaluation. When it is not suitable for observation or during the observation interval, the internal organs can be isolated from the outside world by an airtight cap, and the time for the next observation can be selected by the user. During the observation, since the observed part of the internal organs is sucked into the adsorption hole, the negative pressure continues to exist, so the movement of the internal organs themselves and the heartbeat and breathing of the experimental animals are difficult to affect the observed part. Therefore, the present invention not only realizes long-term observation of the visceral organs in the chest or abdominal cavity of living small animals and studies the structural and functional changes of the visceral organs in the chest, but also avoids the focal plane under the microscope from being affected by heartbeat and breathing through negative pressure, avoids focal plane changes and motion artifacts, and obtains complete video images for a long time and multiple times, thereby improving the stability of observation and detection. The negative pressure source can adjust the area of ​​the observed part of the visceral organ by adjusting the negative pressure, and can change the field of view by expanding or shrinking it within a certain range, solving the problem of fixed observation field of the existing device.

[0020] The present invention does not require multiple surgeries, can greatly reduce the trauma of experimental animals, and greatly improves the survival rate of experimental animals in continuous time observation experiments, and has a positive effect on both the health of experimental animals and experimental data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0023] Figure 1 It is a structural exploded view of the present invention in a top view;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a structural exploded view of the front view of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional view in the front view direction of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the suction cup in the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the suction cup slot in the present invention;

[0028] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention connected to a negative pressure source through a fixing member;

[0029] Figure 7 It is a cross-sectional view of the present invention connected to a negative pressure source through a fixing member.

[0030] Note: The corresponding relationship between the parts and numbers in the figure is:

[0031] Suction cup 10, adsorption hole 11, limiting portion 111, limiting area 112, trapezoidal hole 113, glass slide 12, card slot 13, first slot 131, second slot 132, third slot 133, base 14, step 15, airway 20, first end 21, second end 22, airtight cap 30, fixing part 40, channel 41. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application. The long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs provided by the present invention not only improves stability and improves observation and detection accuracy, but also can control the observation field of view by negative pressure, and the flexibility is greatly improved. The present invention is described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific implementation methods of the specification.

[0033] In order to overcome the problems of poor stability, fixed field of view and low survival rate of continuous observation in the imaging device of animal internal organs in the prior art, refer to Figure 1 The present invention provides a long-term imaging device suitable for animal internal organs, including a suction cup 10, an airway 20 and an airtight cap 30.

[0034] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3The suction cup 10 is provided with a through adsorption hole 11, the upper end opening of the adsorption hole 11 is sealed with a glass slide 12, and the lower end is embedded in the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of the experimental animal. The airway 20 is provided with a first end 21 and a second end 22, the first end 21 is connected to the adsorption hole 11, and the second end 22 is detachably connected to the negative pressure source, and the negative pressure source works to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole 11, and the animal's internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole 11 and close to the glass slide 12. At this time, the internal organs can be detected and observed through a microscope, and images can be obtained for analysis and evaluation. The airtight cap 30 is detachably connected to the second end 22. When the observation is completed, turn off the negative pressure source to return the internal organs to their positions, and then use the airtight cap 30 to seal the second end 22 to reduce the internal organs from external intrusion.

[0035] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are: the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of a living small animal is opened by surgical operation, and then the lower end of the adsorption hole 11 is embedded in the abdominal cavity or chest cavity, the upper end of the adsorption hole 11 is sealed with a glass slide 12, and the negative pressure source works to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole 11, and the animal's internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole 11 and close to the glass slide 12. At this time, the internal organs can be detected and observed through a microscope, and images can be obtained for analysis and evaluation. When it is not suitable for observation or during the observation interval, the airtight cap 30 can be used to isolate the internal organs from the outside world, and the time for the next observation can be selected by the airtight cap 30. During the observation, since the observed part of the internal organs is sucked into the adsorption hole 11, the negative pressure continues to exist, so the movement of the internal organs themselves and the heartbeat and breathing of the experimental animals are difficult to affect the observed part. Therefore, the present invention not only realizes long-term observation of the visceral organs in the chest or abdominal cavity of living small animals and studies the structural and functional changes of the visceral organs in the chest, but also avoids the focal plane under the microscope from being affected by heartbeat and breathing through negative pressure, avoids focal plane changes and motion artifacts, and obtains complete video images for a long time and multiple times, thereby improving the stability of observation and detection. The negative pressure source can adjust the area of ​​the observed part of the visceral organ by adjusting the negative pressure, and can change the field of view by expanding or shrinking it within a certain range, solving the problem of fixed observation field of the existing device.

[0036] The present invention does not require multiple surgeries, can greatly reduce the trauma of experimental animals, and greatly improves the survival rate of experimental animals in continuous time observation experiments, and has a positive effect on both the health of experimental animals and experimental data.

[0037] Specifically, the airway 20 and the suction cup 10 can be directly integrally formed, and the whole can be made of red wax or metal material using 3D printing technology. The outer edge of the suction cup 10 is set to a smooth arc surface to prevent cutting of human hands and blood vessels or internal organs of experimental animals, thereby reducing secondary trauma. A threaded section can be set at the second end 22 of the airway 20, and the airtight cap 30 is provided with an internal thread and one end is closed. The threaded connection has good airtightness, which is conducive to maintaining the health of internal organs. At the same time, the threaded connection has good stability and can withstand the impact force caused by negative pressure. The airway 20 is slightly higher than the lower end of the adsorption hole 11 and can be attached to the abdominal or chest skin of the pressure-applying animal. When the airway 20 is used as a handle during operation, direct contact with the suction cup 10 should be avoided to reduce the contamination of the internal organs under the suction cup 10.

[0038] The glass slide 12 is glued to the upper end of the adsorption hole 11 by biological glue, so that the suction cup 10 has a certain closed circular internal space, so as to form a negative pressure area to suck the internal organs. Figure 3 The manifestation is clearer.

[0039] See also Figure 4 In another preferred embodiment, a slot 13 is provided on the outer periphery of the suction cup 10, and the slot 13 is adapted to the ribs of the experimental animal. When observing the internal organs of the thoracic cavity, it is sometimes necessary to set an observation port from the intercostal space. When the lower end of the suction cup 10 is placed in the intercostal space, the ribs can enter the slot 13, which increases the stability of the suction cup 10 and makes it easier to fix the suction cup 10 on the opened observation port. Therefore, the size of the suction cup 10 should be adapted to the rib structure of the experimental animal to avoid damage to the ribs.

[0040] Continue reading Figure 4 Further, in the above embodiment, the upper and lower ends of the suction cup 10 are respectively provided with seats 14 along the radial direction of the suction hole 11, and a slot 13 is formed between the two seats 14. The outer peripheral shape of the seat 14 is set to a polygon. In this embodiment, two upper and lower seats 14 are provided to form the slot 13, and the shape of the seat 14 is set to a polygon. The size and specific shape of the seat 14 can be adjusted, such as Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the suction cup 10 is configured to be hexagonal, and the edges and corners are configured to be curved surfaces. The lower end of the suction cup 10 needs to be embedded in the chest cavity and pass between two ribs. When using mice as experimental animals, the width of the hexagonal pedestal 14 can be set to 4mm-5.5mm. At the same time, the diameter of the adsorption hole 11 can be set to about 4mm. In addition, according to actual needs, the thickness of the upper and lower pedestals 14 can be set to different sizes. The lower pedestal 14 is embedded in the body of the experimental animal and can be appropriately thinned to 0.55mm. The upper pedestal 14 is not restricted and can be set to a thickness of 1.1mm according to experimental needs.

[0041] See also Figure 5, or further, in the above embodiment, the slot 13 includes a first slot 131, a second slot 132 and a third slot 133, the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 are connected by the third slot 133, the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 are both straight slots that are convenient for limiting the ribs of the experimental animal, and the extension lines of the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 form an angle, which is an acute angle. If the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 are not parallel, then the spacing between the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 at different positions is also different. When placing the suction cup 10, the smaller part of the suction cup 10 can be allowed to enter the chest cavity first, and the larger part can be placed while the wound is gradually opened, reducing surgical trauma, and allowing the ribs to be stuck in the slot 13 at a suitable position. In this embodiment, the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 are connected by the third slot 133, and the width of the part where the third slot 133 is located is the smallest, so the third slot 133 can be allowed to enter the chest cavity first, and then the first slot 131 and the second slot 132 can clamp the ribs on both sides.

[0042] See again Figure 3 In another preferred embodiment, a limiting portion 111 is provided in the adsorption hole 11, and the limiting portion 111 and the inner wall of the adsorption hole 11 form a limiting area 112 to prevent the internal organs from retracting. After the internal organs are sucked into the adsorption hole 11, they are closely attached to the bottom of the glass slide 12. In order to make the observation area of ​​the internal organs more stable, the limiting portion 111 is provided to prevent the internal organs from retracting.

[0043] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the limiting portion 111 is arranged along the inner wall circumference of the adsorption hole 11, and the end of the limiting portion 111 extends obliquely upward, and the lower end opening of the adsorption hole 11 forms a trapezoidal hole 113. The limiting portion 111 extends obliquely upward, which raises the threshold for entering the limiting area 112. After the internal organs partially enter the limiting area 112, as long as the negative pressure does not change significantly, it can basically maintain stability. The limiting area 112 can also be used as a storage area for body fluids such as tissue fluid and trace blood. It is inevitable that there will be some small amount of liquid in the internal organs. The liquid flows back to the storage area, which can improve the clarity of the observation area. A trapezoidal hole 113 is formed below the adsorption hole 11, which increases the contact area between the hole wall and the internal organs and improves the relative stability of the internal organs and the suction cup 10. Specifically, the lower opening of the trapezoidal hole 113 is less than 4mm to avoid damage to the internal organs.

[0044] Continue reading Figure 3 In another preferred embodiment, the axial direction of the airway 20 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the adsorption hole 11. The first end 21 of the airway 20 is connected to the hole wall of the adsorption hole 11, which does not affect the suction space and observation field of the internal organs, and can reduce the suction of the liquid in the chest cavity or the abdominal cavity into the airway 20.

[0045] See again Figure 4In another preferred embodiment, the upper opening of the adsorption hole 11 is provided with a step 15, and the glass slide 12 is fixedly connected to the step 15. The step 15 can limit the position of the glass slide 12, and can prevent the glass slide 12 from being damaged during use, reduce the influence of light on the observation field, etc.

[0046] See also Figure 6 and Figure 7 In another preferred embodiment, the long-term imaging device for animal internal organs provided by the present invention also includes a fixing part 40, which is detachably connected between the second end 22 and the negative pressure source, and a channel 41 is provided inside the fixing part 40. The provision of the fixing part 40 has multiple advantages: 1. It can lengthen the length of the entire negative pressure channel, which is convenient for connection in actual experiments and adaptable to various experimental environments; 2. The fixing part 40 increases the length of the negative pressure channel. If the negative pressure source itself fails or the negative pressure fluctuates, the negative pressure changes of the internal organs can be reduced through the pressure buffering of the fixing part 40; 3. The use of the fixing part 40 can also reduce the direct entry of the body fluid of the experimental animal into the negative pressure source under the action of negative pressure. Specifically, the fixing part 40 can be connected to the second end 22 by a thread.

[0047] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the radius of the channel 41 is greater than the airway 20. The radius of the channel 41 inside the fixing member 40 is larger, and the negative pressure is adjusted by the fixing member 40, so that a larger negative pressure is formed in the airway 20 with a smaller radius. Compared with the airway 20 directly connected to the negative pressure source, the negative pressure generated in the adsorption hole 11 is larger, the negative pressure has a larger control range, and when adjusting the negative pressure, it can have a higher adjustment accuracy.

[0048] The following is a specific experimental embodiment of the present invention:

[0049] Take C57 / BL6J mice as an example: before the experiment, the mice were allowed to eat and drink freely, with a 12-hour / 12-hour sunlight rhythm, and a suction cup 10 that matched the size of the mouse's chest cavity was selected. First, the small animal was anesthetized and connected to a ventilator, the right chest skin was cut, the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles were separated, and a small opening was opened between the third and fourth ribs with hemostats, the lower part of the adsorption hole 11 was embedded in the chest cavity, and the suction cup 10 was fixed to the chest with biological glue and sutures, and then the airtight cap 30 was tightened to the second end 22 of the airway 20. After the mouse has passed the recovery period of the operation, the airtight cap 30 can be opened at any time to connect to the negative pressure source for adsorption shooting.

[0050] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0051] The foregoing is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, which enables those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features claimed herein.

Claims

1. A long-term imaging device for animal internal organs, characterized in that: include: A suction cup, provided with a through suction hole, the upper end opening of the suction hole is sealed to set a glass slide, and the lower end is embedded in the chest cavity or abdominal cavity of an experimental animal, the outer periphery of the suction cup is provided with a card slot, the card slot is adapted to the ribs of the experimental animal, the upper and lower ends of the suction cup are respectively provided with pedestals along the radial outward direction of the suction hole, the card slot is formed between the two pedestals, the outer periphery of the pedestal is set to a polygonal shape, the card slot includes a first slot, a second slot and a third slot, the first slot and the second slot are connected by the third slot, the first slot and the second slot are both straight slots, and the extended lines of the first slot and the second slot form an angle, the angle is an acute angle, the width of the portion where the third slot is located is smaller than the first slot and the second slot, so that the third slot first enters the chest cavity, and then the first slot and the second slot clamp the ribs on both sides; An airway is provided with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the adsorption hole, and the second end is detachably connected to a negative pressure source, and the negative pressure source operates to form a negative pressure area in the adsorption hole, and the animal's internal organs are passively sucked into the adsorption hole and closely attached to the glass slide; and, An airtight cap is detachably connected to the second end.

2. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 1, characterized in that: A limiting portion is arranged in the adsorption hole, and the limiting portion and the inner wall of the adsorption hole form a limiting area for preventing the internal organs from retracting.

3. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 2, characterized in that: The limiting portion is arranged along the inner wall circumference of the adsorption hole, and the end of the limiting portion extends toward an oblique upward direction, and the lower end of the adsorption hole opens to form a trapezoidal hole.

4. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 1, characterized in that: The axial direction of the air channel is perpendicular to the axial direction of the adsorption hole.

5. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper opening of the adsorption hole is provided with a step, and the glass slide is fixedly connected to the step.

6. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a fixing member, which is detachably connected between the second end and the negative pressure source, and a channel is provided inside the fixing member.

7. The long-term imaging device for animal internal organs according to claim 6, characterized in that: The passage has a radius greater than the airway.

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