Cell Culture System Pipe Placement for Stray Light Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cell culture systems lack the capability to perform automated cell culture while considering the presence of pipes for water supply and discharge, which leads to issues with stray light interference and reduced image quality.
Innovation Solution
A cell culture system that includes a placement table for culture vessels with optically transparent side surfaces, supply and discharge pipes arranged to minimize stray light, an image pickup portion for observing the culture surface, and a light irradiation portion for illuminating the side surface, ensuring that the pipes are positioned to avoid interfering with the illumination and image capture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If pipes are installed for water supply and discharge in automated cell culture, then automated cell culture capability is improved, but stray light interference increases and image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful pipes from the optical path by positioning them at the periphery of the culture vessel, separating the water supply/discharge function from the imaging region. This allows automated cell culture to proceed while minimizing stray light interference with the culture surface observation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different positioning strategies to different parts of the culture vessel: pipes are concentrated at the periphery where they serve their automated culture function, while the central region maintains optimal optical properties for imaging. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between automation and image quality.
2Measurement precision
If pipes are positioned to minimize stray light interference, then image quality is improved, but automated water supply and discharge functionality is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the culture vessel into distinct functional zones: a peripheral region housing the pipes for water supply and discharge, and a central region optimized for optical observation. This spatial segmentation allows both automated functionality and high-quality imaging to coexist without interfering with each other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent resolves the contradiction by transitioning from a two-dimensional planar arrangement to a three-dimensional spatial configuration, positioning pipes vertically or radially outward from the culture surface. This dimensional change allows pipes to be separated from the optical path while maintaining their automated culture functions.
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 system enables efficient automated cell culture with reduced stray light interference, allowing for high-quality image capture of cell colonies and improving the overall accuracy of cell culture observations.
Implementation Method 1
a light irradiation portion configured to emit illumination light toward the side surface
Implementation Method 2
a side surface that forms a peripheral wall around the culture surface, the side surface being optically transparent
Implementation Method 3
a shape of the colony of cultured cells can be observed based on scattering of irradiated light
Data Source
AI summary
A cell culture system includes: a cell culture apparatus including: a placement table placing a culture vessel having a culture surface on which cell culture is viable and a side surface forming a peripheral wall around the culture surface, the side surface being optically transparent; a supply pipe allowing liquid to be supplied into the culture vessel; and a discharge pipe allowing liquid to be discharged from the culture vessel; an image pickup portion allowing observation of the culture surface; and a light irradiation portion emitting illumination light toward the side surface, wherein the supply pipe and the discharge pipe are arranged so that an openings thereof are located in proximity to points on an inner side surface of the culture vessel, which define a width of the culture surface in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis of the illumination light.