Support for pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples

Abstract

The invention relates to a rack (1) for containers and / or cryotubes of biological samples, comprising a peripheral wall (4) whose upper edge (5) defines an access opening (50) to the internal volume of the rack (1), within which extends at least one row (6) of compartments (7) with axis X, each adapted to hold a container or cryotube of biological sample. These compartments (7) are delimited by a lower face (8), perpendicular to the X-axis, surmounted by a lateral wall (9) having a hollow face (11) oriented towards the access opening (50) to the internal volume. It is characterized in that it comprises a base (3) connected to the peripheral wall (4), and in that the X-axis of said compartments (7) forms an angle α between 30° and 50° with said base (3).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of equipment for the handling and automated traceability of medical samples.

[0002] Its subject is a rack for pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples, comprising a peripheral wall whose upper edge defines an opening for access to the internal volume of the rack, inside which extends at least one row of X-axis housings adapted to each house a pot and / or cryotube of biological sample, said housings being delimited by a lower face, perpendicular to the X-axis, surmounted by a side wall having a hollow face oriented in the direction of the access opening to the internal volume.

[0003] Conventionally, during their implementation, such pots and cryotubes are equipped with means of identifying the biological samples they contain, which can advantageously be in the form of encoded data, affixed to a label stuck by an operator on their external wall. Reading of this identification data, by appropriate reading means connected to computer processing means, subsequently provides medical personnel with rapid access to the corresponding patient's file, previously recorded in a database.

[0004] Furthermore, as the pots and cryotubes are prepared during sampling operations, it is customary to place them in containers or on suitable racks, allowing them to be stored and transported between different work areas, in a grouped manner, while limiting the risk of spillage.

[0005] In this regard, different models of racks are available on the market and are currently used in anatomy, pathology and molecular biology laboratories.

[0006] Some come in the form of simple bins or baskets in which the pots and / or cryotubes are stored in a jumble and are then exposed to shocks, as well as the risk of material leaking if the lid is not properly closed or if a crack appears.

[0007] Others, more elaborate, conventionally comprise a plurality of individual housings extending perpendicularly from a base, possibly forming columns and rows. They are distinguished from each other mainly by their general appearance and the material from which they are made. Some commonly used plastic models thus comprise individual housings of a shape complementary to that of a given format of pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples. There are also racks in the form of openwork baskets, made of metal wire delimiting individual housings large enough to accommodate, if necessary, pots and / or cryotubes of different sizes on the same rack.

[0008] Furthermore, regardless of the rack model used, and given the increasing volume of biological samples to be managed, analysis laboratories are currently forced to implement a reliable solution for traceability of jars and cryotubes, allowing their location to be known reliably at all times, and thus to be able to find each of them quickly, several times throughout the diagnostic chain. In addition, traceability solutions also aim to avoid possible errors in the management of jars and cryotubes that could lead to premature destruction of samples for which no diagnosis has yet been issued.

[0009] Conventionally, such a traceability solution consists of recording, preferably on a computer recording medium, in association with the identification data of a pot or cryotube, its location data. The latter are defined by at least one identification code of the rack on which the pot or cryotube is stored, supplemented, where appropriate, by data relating to its positioning within this same rack, and possibly, by an identification code of a storage cabinet for this same rack.

[0010] In this context, the present applicant has noted that the various existing models of racks for pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples are not entirely satisfactory, insofar as they do not allow automation of the above-mentioned operations, necessary for the traceability of pots and cryotubes.

[0011] Indeed, due to their structure in the form of simple trays or the arrangement of the individual housings along an axis perpendicular to the bottom, the encoded data affixed to the external wall of the pots and cryotubes are not perfectly visible, and consequently can only be read, by extracting the latter one after the other, manually, from the rack or their respective housings, before replacing them. In other words, conventional racks do not allow for automated reading, in a single step, and therefore simultaneously, of the identification code of a rack, the respective encoded identification data of all the pots and / or cryotubes, and the respective location data of the latter on this same rack, with a view to recording these data in an associated manner in a database.

[0012] On the contrary, with existing racks, numerous successive manipulations of the jars and cryotubes are necessary to carry out these operations, which is particularly time-consuming, and also raises a significant risk of loss of biological material during hasty manipulations of jars and / or cryotubes that are sometimes poorly closed or fall out of the hands of operators. In addition, it has been observed that after being extracted for manual reading of their identification code, some jars and / or cryotubes are mistakenly repositioned in a rack other than their original rack. This generates errors in the databases, which may subsequently result in analyses carried out on the wrong sample, and therefore diagnoses attributed to the wrong patient, or in the premature disposal of samples that have not yet been diagnosed.

[0013] Furthermore, most classic rack models have the disadvantage of being bulky and therefore requiring significant storage space, which means untimely additional costs.

[0014] The objective of the present invention is to propose a new model of rack for pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples intended to overcome the problems mentioned above.

[0015] More specifically, the rack according to the invention has been specifically designed to allow automated reading, in a single step, of an identification code that it contains, of the respective encoded identification data of all the pots and / or cryotubes that it contains, and of the respective location data of said pots and / or cryotubes on this same rack. The rack according to the invention has also been designed to have a compact, space-saving structure that is easy to store, suitable for the various standard formats of existing pots and / or cryotubes, and with which the risk of loss of biological material is greatly reduced, or even eliminated.

[0016] To this end, the present invention relates to a rack of the type indicated in the preamble, characterized in that it comprises a bottom connected to the peripheral wall, and in that the axis X of said housings forms an angle α of between 30° and 50° with said bottom.

[0017] Furthermore, depending on the case, the rack according to the invention may also have one or more of the following characteristics: the hollow face of the side wall of said housings has a curved section. said housings are bordered by a plurality of wings of thickness e, extending parallel to the axis X. the housings are formed along said at least one row in such a way that their axes X are equidistant. the rack comprises a plurality of rows of housings, extending parallel to each other and spaced from each other by a distance d. the housings are formed along the rows so as to be aligned with each other from one row to another. the housings are formed along the rows so as to extend in a staggered manner with respect to each other from one row to another. the bottom of the rack and / or its peripheral wall comprises means adapted to allow it to be stacked. the stacking means comprise male and female means formed respectively on the upper edge of the peripheral wall and the external face of its bottom or vice versa.the upper edge of its peripheral wall has an area suitable for receiving an identification code.

[0018] The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: [ Fig.1 ] corresponds to a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the rack according to the invention, suitable for storing twenty pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples, in an empty state, [ Fig.2 ] is a perspective view of another variant embodiment of the rack according to the invention, suitable for storing twenty pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples, the rack being in a filled state, [ Fig. 3 ] corresponds to a top view of another variant embodiment of the rack according to the invention, suitable for storing forty-five pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples, the rack being in a filled state, and [ Fig. 4 ] corresponds to a top view of another variant embodiment of the rack according to the invention, suitable for storing eighty pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples, the rack being in a filled state.

[0019] As indicated above, the present invention relates to a rack 1, 10, 100, 101 for pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 of biological samples. In the illustrated embodiments, it is made of plastic material. However, any other material with equivalent properties can also be considered for its manufacture.

[0020] With reference to the drawings, the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 comprises a bottom 3 provided with a peripheral wall 4 whose upper edge 5 defines an opening 50 for access to the internal volume of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101. As visible in the figures, in the illustrated embodiment variants, the upper edge 5 has a recess 16 advantageously defining a zone adapted to receive an identification code specific to each rack 1, 10, 100, 101 used to store pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200. Furthermore, the bottom 3 of the rack 1, 10, 100 supports several rows 6, having a plurality of housings 7, of axis X, adapted to each house a pot or a cryotube 2, 20, 200 of biological sample.

[0021] In this regard, it should be noted that the pots and cryotubes 2, 20, 200 are not part of the invention, and correspond to laboratory accessories well known to those skilled in the art. Traditionally cylindrical in appearance, and provided with a lid, they are currently marketed in several standard formats, adapted to accommodate, depending on the case, fluids, or tissue samples of varying sizes. In short, the pots and / or cryotubes referenced 2, 20, 200 in the figures correspond to standard pots and / or cryotubes commonly used in laboratories at the present time, the pots and / or cryotubes 20 having a volume greater than that of the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 200 while the pots and / or cryotubes 200 have a conical bottom.Furthermore, as visible in the figures, the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 shown are provided in a conventional manner with self-adhesive labels comprising their respective encoded identification data 15.

[0022] As seen in the figure 1 , each housing 7 of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 is delimited by a lower face 8, perpendicular to the axis X, surmounted by a side wall 9. It should be noted that the lower face 8 is provided here as flat but may have any other shape, for example conical, having the effect of promoting perfect positioning of a pot and / or cryotube 2, 20, 200 within a housing 7. Similarly, in accordance with the invention, the shape of the lower face 8 may differ from one housing 7 to another. Thus, for example, for the same rack 1, 10, 100, 101 certain housings 7 may have a flat lower face 8, while other housings may be provided with a lower face of conical shape or having any other shape adapted to the shape of the bottom of a commercial biological sample pot or cryotube.In accordance with the invention, the side wall 9 has a hollow face 11 oriented in the direction of the opening 50 for access to the internal volume of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 while the axis X of each housing forms an angle a, between 30° and 50°, with the bottom 3.

[0023] It should also be noted that, in the illustrated embodiments, the hollow face 11 of the side wall 9 of the various housings 7 has a curved section making it possible to optimally wedge and accommodate pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples of cylindrical shape and of conventional format, such as both pots and / or cryotubes 2, 200 and pots and / or cryotubes 20 of larger volume.

[0024] On the other hand, in the different embodiments illustrated in figures 1 à 4 , the different rows 6 of housings 7, extend parallel to each other and are advantageously spaced from each other by a distance d.

[0025] The housings 7 are, for their part, formed along the different rows 6 in such a way that their axes X are equidistant. They are also bordered by a plurality of wings 12, of thickness e,extending parallel to the X axis. The presence of the wings 12 and the distance d provided between two neighboring rows 6 make it possible to provide a spacing, between the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 contained in the rack 1, 10, 100, 101, sufficient to avoid reading errors of the encoded identification data 15 which they contain, by an automatic or manual reading device. The presence of the wings 12 also has the effect of guaranteeing the absence of contact between the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 and consequently of possible clashes which could be the cause of untimely cracks.

[0026] According to another characteristic of the invention, provision has been made to arrange the housings 7 along the different rows 6 in such a way that the housings of one row are aligned with those of the other rows 6 (cf. figs. 1, 2 And 4), or in such a way that they extend in staggered rows relative to each other from one row 6 to another (cf. fig. 3 ).

[0027] In the context of the present invention, provision has also been made to provide the bottom 3 and / or the peripheral wall 4 of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 with means adapted to enable it to be stacked, such as for example male and female means formed respectively on the upper edge of the peripheral wall and the external face of its bottom, or vice versa.

[0028] Finally, it appears clearly from the above that the objectives described in the preamble are achieved thanks to the aforementioned characteristics of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101.

[0029] Indeed, once arranged in the latter, the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 rest on the lower face 8 of flat, conical or any other shape, and the hollow face 11 of their respective housings 7. The pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 are then inclined at an angle a, for example equal to 40°, with the bottom 3 of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101.

[0030] In such a configuration, any spillage or leakage of their contents is prevented.

[0031] In addition, the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 are placed side by side within the same rack 1, 10, 100, 101 without overlapping. Therefore, it is sufficient to arrange them in such a way that the encoded identification data 15 that they contain are all oriented towards the access opening 50 to the internal volume of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 to allow automated reading in a single step of all of them, as well as a determination of the positioning data of the pots and / or cryotubes 2, 20, 200 within the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 and a reading of the identification code of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 present on the recess 16 of the upper edge 5 of the latter. It should be noted that such reading can be carried out using appropriate reading means well known to those skilled in the art, such as for example a camera, a light scanner or any other equivalent means, connected to computer processing means also well known to those skilled in the art.

[0032] In short, the particular structure of the rack 1, 10, 100, 101 according to the invention has the advantage of giving each pot and / or cryotube it contains a unique position, reliably detectable with all the automatic reading means currently available to those skilled in the art. The angle of inclination of the housings 7, between 30° and 50°, guarantees the absence of reading errors in the identification codes of the pots and / or cryotubes, and makes it possible to avoid any loss of biological material due to the possible overturning of pots or cryotubes. In addition, the rack according to the invention can be marketed in the form of a range of different sizes, comprising more or fewer housings 7, aligned with each other or arranged in a staggered pattern from one row to another, the side wall and the bottom of which are of identical shapes and dimensions for all the housings of the same rack or differ from one housing to another of the same rack.This also makes it possible to perfectly meet the various needs of analysis laboratories, in terms of management of pots and / or cryotubes of biological samples.

Claims

1. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) for pots and / or cryotubes (2, 20, 200) of biological samples, comprising a peripheral wall (4) whose upper edge (5) defines an access opening (50) to the internal volume of the rack (1, 10, 100, 101), inside which extends at least one row (6) of housings (7) of axis X adapted to each house a pot or a cryotube (2, 20, 200) of biological sample, said housings (7) being delimited by a lower face (8), perpendicular to the axis X, surmounted by a side wall (9) having a hollow face (11) oriented in the direction of the access opening (50) to the internal volume, characterized in that it comprises a bottom (3) connected to the peripheral wall (4), and in that the X axis of said housings (7) forms an angle α between 30° and 50° with said bottom (3).

2. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe hollow face (11) of the side wall (9) of said housings (7) has a curved section.

3. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said housings (7) are bordered by a plurality of wings (12), of thickness e, extending parallel to the X axis.

4. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the housings (7) are formed along said at least one row (6) in such a way that their axes X are equidistant.

5. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of rows (6) of housings (7), extending parallel to each other and spaced from each other by a distance d.

6. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in thatthe housings (7) are formed along the rows (6) so as to be aligned with each other from one row (6) to another.

7. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the housings (7) are formed along the rows (6) so as to extend in a staggered manner relative to each other from one row (6) to another.

8. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its base (3) and / or its peripheral wall (4) includes(s) suitable means to allow its stacking.

9. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to claim 8, characterized in that the stacking means comprise male and female means formed respectively on the upper edge (5) of the peripheral wall (4) and the external face of its bottom (3) or vice versa.

10. Rack (1, 10, 100, 101) according to any one of the preceding claims. characterized in thatthe upper edge (5) of its peripheral wall (4) has an area suitable for receiving an identification code.

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