Automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation
By coordinating the centrifugation and robotic arm components, the cell block preparation equipment has been miniaturized and automated, overcoming the limitations of cell smear methods, providing a clear structure of cell blocks and multiple detection possibilities, making it suitable for clinical applications.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511348507.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2025-05-31
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-21
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-28
AI Technical Summary
In existing technologies, cell smear methods have problems such as difficulty in performing multiple staining and detection simultaneously, cell deformation, unclear structure, susceptibility to interference, and difficulty in long-term preservation. Furthermore, cell block preparation equipment faces challenges in clinical application, such as large size and cross-contamination.
An automated sample dispensing structure consisting of a centrifuge assembly, a robotic arm assembly, a sample dispensing needle assembly, and a matrix assembly automates the processing of cell block preparation tubes and the addition of matrix through centrifugation and the movement of the robotic arm. The matrix can be directly aspirated by changing the tip of the dispensing needle, thus solving problems such as cross-contamination and large equipment size.
It has achieved miniaturization and automation of cell block preparation equipment, ensuring that cells remain unchanged, have clear structures, are easy to perform various tests, can be stored for a long time, and are suitable for clinical application.
Smart Images
Figure CN121027557A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical equipment, in particular to a cell block automatic preparation and sample adding structure and method. BACKGROUND
[0002] Cell pathology diagnoses a variety of diseases and assesses health conditions by analyzing cells or small cell clusters.
[0003] The most commonly used technique in cell pathology is cell smear. Cell smear is to spread cells or small cell clusters on a glass slide, and after staining with diagnostic reagents, the cell morphology is observed under a microscope to make a diagnosis of a variety of diseases or assess health conditions. The cell smear method has obvious limitations, mainly in that: cell smear cannot be reproduced, once the cell smear is stained with a diagnostic reagent, it is difficult to simultaneously perform additional staining and detection; it is difficult to perform immunohistochemical and molecular pathological detection; factors such as blood, protein precipitates, mucus interference, and cell accumulation make the morphology and structure of cells unclear; cells are distorted and deformed during the preparation process due to stress, making it difficult to interpret; and it cannot be stored for a long time.
[0004] Cell block is a bridge for cell pathology to precision medicine. After dehydration, paraffin embedding and other procedures, cell block is made into cell wax block, and cell wax block is cut into cell section, and after further staining, the cell is detected to diagnose diseases. Compared with cell smear, cell section has many advantages: cells are not deformed, structure is clear, easy to observe and interpret; it can clearly observe the arrangement of cells like biopsy tissue section, so it is also called micro-biopsy; cell block can cut multiple cell or small cell cluster sections for analysis; it is easy to perform special staining, immunocytochemical staining and molecular pathological detection; it can be stored for a long time for further diagnosis and research.
[0005] Automation of cell block preparation is the direction of future development. We previously applied for a patent: a cell block automatic preparation machine, patent number: 20211052221511. During the manufacturing process, a series of technical problems were encountered, making it difficult to implement the device in practice, for example: the special properties of the matrix, which solidifies into a solid at room temperature, making needle washing difficult, prone to cross contamination, and small volume rotary mechanical arms and needle washing schemes commonly used on medical devices cannot be implemented; complex mechanical arm structure and large rotor (required for ideal specimen processing quantity) manufacturing equipment volume is large, not suitable for medical equipment in clinical application, etc. Therefore, further innovation is needed to achieve the purpose of industrialization. SUMMARY
[0006] The application discloses an automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation, which is composed of a centrifugal component, a mechanical arm component, a sample adding needle component, a matrix component and a liquid path component. The sample adding needle component is moved to a working position through the movement of the centrifugal component and the mechanical arm component, and a sample in a cell block preparation tube is processed and matrix and reagent are added. The centrifugal component comprises a motor, a rotor, a cup and the cell block preparation tube, the cell block preparation tube is installed in the cup and then installed on the rotor, and the motor drives the rotor to rotate; the centrifugal component has a rotor positioning function; any cell preparation tube after centrifugation can be rotated to a target working position; the mechanical arm component is composed of an XYZZ module, namely, one X module, one Y module and two Z modules; the sample adding needle component is composed of a sample adding needle and a tip head, the sample adding needle comprises a liquid adding needle and a liquid pumping needle, and the liquid adding needle and the liquid pumping needle are installed on the Z modules respectively, and the liquid adding needle is provided with a tip head mounting position; the tip head is mounted around the rotor; the matrix component is composed of a heater, a matrix bottle and matrix, the matrix component can heat the matrix in the matrix bottle, so that the matrix is changed from a solid state to a liquid state, the matrix component is installed below the X axis movement track, the tip head is mounted on the liquid adding needle, and the matrix is directly pumped by the liquid adding needle and added into the cell block preparation tube; and the liquid path component is composed of a reagent bottle and a connecting pipeline connected to the sample adding needle.
[0007] According to the automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation, the cell block preparation tube and the sample adding needle are moved to a working position through the movement of the centrifugal component and the mechanical arm component, matrix and other detection reagents are added into the cell block preparation tube, and the cytological sample is automatically added and prepared into a cell block.
[0008] The application has the following beneficial effects: (1) the automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation is adopted, a cell block preparation machine manufactured has simple structure, significantly reduced volume and simplified action, and the feasibility of industrial manufacturing and practical popularization is realized.
[0009] (2) the liquid adding needle is replaced with the tip head to directly pump the matrix and then add the matrix into the cell block preparation tube, the special property that the matrix becomes sticky and even solid after temperature reduction is utilized, and the problems of needle washing difficulty and cross contamination caused by the problems can be solved.
[0010] (3) the cell block preparation tube and the matrix material are used, a small amount of cells and tissue debris can be efficiently enriched on one plane of the matrix through the centrifugal principle, and trace cells can be prepared into a cell block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation.
[0012] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the centrifugal component.
[0013] Figure 3Structure diagram of mechanical arm assembly of the application.
[0014] Figure 4 Structure diagram of sample adding needle assembly of the application.
[0015] Figure 5 Structure diagram of matrix assembly of the application.
[0016] Figure 6 Connection diagram of liquid path assembly of the application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] For the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the application to be clearer, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplification of description, and do not mean or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation. In addition, in the description of the application, the terms "mounting" and "connection" should be understood broadly.
[0018] The technical solutions of the application will be described in further detail below in conjunction with the drawings and examples.
[0019] As shown in Figure 1 The application is an automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation, which comprises a centrifugal assembly 1, a mechanical arm assembly 2, a sample adding needle assembly 3 and a matrix assembly 4. Through the movement of the centrifugal assembly 1 and the mechanical arm assembly 2, the sample adding needle assembly 3 is moved to the working position, and the specimen in the cell block preparation tube 14 is processed, and the matrix and reagent are added.
[0020] As shown in Figure 2 The centrifugal assembly 1 comprises a motor 11, a rotor 12, a cup 13 and a cell block preparation tube 14. The cell block preparation tube 14 is installed in the cup 13 and then installed on the rotor 12. The motor 11 drives the rotor 12 to rotate.
[0021] As shown in Figure 3 The mechanical arm assembly 2 comprises an X module 21, a Y module 22 and a ZZ module 23 (two Z modules), forming an XYZZ module structure.
[0022] As shown in Figure 4 The sample adding needle assembly 3 is composed of a sample adding needle and a Tip head 34. The sample adding needle comprises a liquid adding needle 31 and a liquid extracting needle 32. The liquid adding needle 31 is provided with a Tip head 34 mounting position 33. After the liquid adding needle 31 is installed with the Tip head 34, the detection reagent is added to the cell block preparation tube 14.
[0023] As shown in Figure 5As shown, the matrix assembly 4 is composed of a heater 41, a matrix bottle 42 and a matrix 43, and the matrix assembly 4 can heat the matrix 43 in the matrix bottle 42 to 60-100 degrees, and change the matrix 43 from solid state to liquid state.
[0024] As shown, the liquid path system is composed of reagent bottles and connecting pipes 55, and the reagent bottles include a fixing liquid bottle 51, a red blood cell lysing liquid bottle 52 and a waste liquid bottle 53. The fixing liquid bottle 51 and the red blood cell lysing liquid bottle 52 are connected to the suction needle through the connecting pipes 55; and the waste liquid bottle 54 is connected to the suction needle 32 through the connecting pipe 55. Figure 6
[0025] The working process of the automatic sample adding structure for cell block preparation is described in detail below, and the technical scheme of the present application is further described.
[0026] (1) Specimen collection: the cytological specimen is added to the cell block preparation tube 14.
[0027] (2) Cell block preparation tube 14 installation: the cell block preparation tube 14 containing the cytological specimen is installed into the hanging cup 13, and then installed onto the rotor 12.
[0028] (3) Centrifugation: the cells are separated and enriched to the bottom of the cell block preparation tube 14 through 1500 RPM centrifugation for 5 minutes.
[0029] (4) Removal of supernatant: the motor 11 rotates the cell block preparation tube 14 to the working position, the XYZZ module drives the displacement of the suction needle 32, the suction needle 32 is extended into the supernatant of the cell block preparation tube 14, and the supernatant is sucked out.
[0030] (5) Red blood cell lysis (if necessary): the motor 11 rotates the cell preparation tube 14 to the working position, the liquid adding needle is moved to the tip head 34, the tip head is installed in the tip head installation position 33, and then moved to the cell block preparation tube 14 working position, the red blood cell lysing liquid is added to the cell sediment, and the mixture is blown and mixed, and then left to stand for 5 minutes; a tip head is replaced for each specimen.
[0031] (6) Centrifugation: the cells are separated and enriched to the bottom of the cell block preparation tube 14 through 1500 RPM centrifugation for 5 minutes.
[0032] (7) Removal of supernatant: the mechanical arm assembly 2 drives the displacement of the suction needle 32, the suction needle is extended into the supernatant of the cell block preparation tube 14, and the supernatant containing red blood cell fragments is sucked out.
[0033] (8) Cell fixation: the motor 11 rotates the cell block preparation tube 14 to the working position, the XYZZ module drives the displacement of the liquid adding needle 31 to the cell block preparation tube 14 working position, the cell fixing liquid is added to the cell preparation tube 14, and the cells are fixed for 10 minutes.
[0034] (9) Add matrix liquid: the matrix 43 in the matrix bottle 42 is heated by the heater of the matrix assembly 4 in advance, and changes from solid state to liquid state; the motor 11 rotates the cell block preparation tube 14 to the working position, the liquid adding needle 31 moves to the tip head 34, the tip head 34 is installed, then moves above the matrix assembly 4, the matrix 43 in the matrix bottle 42 is sucked through the tip head 34, then moves above the cell block preparation tube 14, the matrix in the tip head 34 is added into the cell block preparation tube 14, and is mixed with the cells. A tip head is replaced for each specimen.
[0035] (10) Centrifugation: the cell preparation tube 14 is centrifuged at 1500 RPM for 5 minutes, and the cells are separated and enriched on a plane at the lower end of the matrix 43 by the separation of the matrix 43. The cells are distributed in the lowermost layer due to the large volume, and the cell block is prepared after the matrix 43 is solidified together with the cells.
[0036] The process is controlled by the upper computer program.
[0037] It should be noted that the above description of the specific embodiments of the present application is only for the purpose of illustrating the technical route and characteristics of the present application, and the purpose is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present application and to implement it, but the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. Any changes or modifications within the scope of the claims of the present application should be covered within the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. An automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation, characterized in that... It mainly consists of a centrifuge assembly, a robotic arm assembly, a sample dispensing needle assembly, and a matrix assembly. The sample dispensing needle assembly is moved to the working position by the movement of the centrifuge assembly and the robotic arm assembly to process the sample and add matrix and reagents. The centrifuge assembly is characterized by including a motor, a rotor, a hanging cup, and a cell block preparation tube, wherein the cell block preparation tube is installed in the hanging cup and then installed on the rotor, and the motor drives the rotor to rotate; The robotic arm assembly is characterized by being composed of XYZZ modules, that is, having one X module, one Y module and two Z modules; The sampling needle assembly consists of a sampling needle and a tip. The sampling needle includes a liquid aspiration needle and a liquid dispensing needle, which are respectively installed on the ZZ module. The matrix assembly consists of a heater, a matrix bottle, and a matrix. The matrix assembly can heat the matrix in the matrix bottle, causing the matrix to change from a solid state to a liquid state. Based on this cell block preparation automated sample loading structure, an automated cell block preparation machine was manufactured to automatically process the specimen, add matrix and other detection reagents, and finally prepare the cytology specimen into cell blocks.
2. The automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that, The centrifuge assembly has a rotor positioning function, which can rotate any cell preparation tube to the target position after centrifugation.
3. The automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that, The TIP headstock is installed around the rotor.
4. The automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that... The injection needle has a tip mounting position, and the sample is added by replacing the tip.
5. The automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cell block preparation tube is a cylindrical hollow tube with openings at both ends. Its bottom cap is flat and can be screwed tightly onto the lower end of the cell block preparation tube, providing a sealed function to prevent liquid leakage.
6. The automated sample dispensing structure for cell block preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that, The matrix assembly is installed below the X-axis motion trajectory. The matrix is directly aspirated by the liquid injection needle with a tip and added to the cell block preparation tube.