Automated Tissue Dissection for Precise ROI Slide Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current histological sample preparation methods are cumbersome, manual, and prone to operator errors, leading to inconsistent and inaccurate tissue scraping, ergonomic issues, and safety hazards, while existing automated systems are costly and have low throughput.
Innovation Solution
An Automated Tissue Dissection (ATD) system that uses non-contact and mechanical methods to extract regions of interest (ROI) and decompose regions of non-interest (RONI) from substrates, integrating with digital pathology to enhance accuracy and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual razor blade scraping is used to collect ROI areas from substrates, then the process is simple and low-cost, but operator accuracy and consistency are poor due to reliance on hand/eye coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical scraping with automated mechanical systems including robotic arms, precision positioning stages, and automated blade control. The system uses computer vision to identify ROI areas and automatically positions the scraping blade to collect tissue from marked regions, eliminating hand/eye coordination requirements while maintaining process simplicity through software control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy or map of the substrate surface with marked ROI areas using image capture devices. This digital representation is then used to guide the automated scraping process, allowing the system to accurately reproduce the pathologist's markings and collect tissue from the correct locations without manual intervention.
2Ease of operation
If manual force is applied to the glass surface during scraping, then tissue collection is achieved, but ergonomic issues and safety hazards increase due to constant force application
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs the tissue collection task independently without requiring operator force application. The robotic arm or automated mechanism applies the necessary force to scrape tissue from the substrate while the operator merely monitors or initiates the process, eliminating ergonomic strain and safety hazards associated with manual force application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automated mechanical system as an intermediary between the operator and the substrate. This intermediary handles all force application and tissue collection operations, protecting the operator from direct contact with sharp blades and eliminating the need for manual force application while maintaining effective tissue collection.
3Productivity
If automated particle-based blasting methods are used to separate ROI regions, then throughput increases, but particle separation and removal steps are required before downstream analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the desired ROI tissue regions from the substrate using automated scraping, leaving behind the unwanted areas. This selective extraction eliminates the need for subsequent particle separation steps because no blasting particles are introduced into the system, and only the collected tissue needs to be processed downstream.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using particle blasting to remove unwanted areas and then separating particles, the system inverts the approach by using automated scraping to directly collect only the desired ROI tissue. This reversal of the process sequence eliminates the particle separation step entirely, as the collection method itself is selective and does not introduce contaminants requiring removal.
4Manufacturing precision
If vacuum blasting techniques are used for tissue preparation, then industrial-grade processing is achieved, but expensive tools and instruments are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs cost-effective, disposable components such as single-use scraping blades or tips that can be easily replaced. These inexpensive consumables replace expensive industrial vacuum blasting equipment while maintaining adequate tissue processing quality for diagnostic purposes, making the system accessible to smaller laboratories with limited budgets.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces expensive industrial vacuum blasting machinery with a simpler automated mechanical scraping system. By using computer-controlled positioning and automated blade mechanisms, the patent achieves comparable tissue preparation quality without requiring costly industrial-grade equipment, thereby reducing the barrier to entry for automated tissue processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The ATD system provides higher throughput, reduces operator variability, minimizes loss of analytes, and integrates seamlessly with downstream analytical procedures, improving the reproducibility and safety of histological assays.
Implementation Method 1
a processing element configured to remove a portion of a sample affixed onto the substrate
Implementation Method 2
remove or decompose nucleic acid content in the region of non-interest (RONI)
Data Source
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AI summary
Some embodiments presented in this disclosure concern an Automated Tissue Dissection (ATD) System. An ATD system is a one stop, and potentially low-cost, system to perform dissections on a substrate from pathologist digital mark or pen mark on the substrate using non-contact and/or mechanical method to extract a Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissue sample with: (a) only the ROI or ROIs as area to be saved; and (b) remove or decompose nucleic acid content in the region of no interest (RONI) and collect all tissue sample from a standard microscope substrate into a specific container.