Biopsy Probe with Sealed Tip for Embryo Tissue Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to effectively remove tissue or cellular material from hatched mammalian embryos due to the flimsy but puncture-resistant nature of their spherical vesicular structure, often causing compression rather than puncture.
Innovation Solution
A device with a hollow pipette and a sealed distal tip featuring a small biopsy port, aligned with the target material, uses a vacuum to draw cellular material into the probe for removal without compressing the embryo, employing a femtosecond laser to create the port and a microforge for precise manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If previous biopsy devices are used on hatched blastocysts, then the envelope may be compressed, but the cellular material cannot be effectively removed because the envelope resists puncture
Solution Approach 1:
The biopsy device is segmented into a sharp piercing tip for penetrating the envelope and a separate biopsy port for material removal. The tip can be advanced independently to create a puncture without compressing the entire envelope, then the port is used to extract cellular material through the created opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The biopsy port is positioned at an angle relative to the probe axis, allowing material to be drawn in from the side rather than directly forward. This angular approach enables effective material removal through the puncture site without requiring additional compression force along the probe axis.
2Ease of operation
If a sharp tip is used to puncture the envelope, then cellular material can be accessed, but the envelope structure may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
Only the distal tip of the probe is sharpened to a fine point for puncturing the envelope, while the rest of the probe body maintains a smoother surface. The biopsy port is also specifically positioned and sized to minimize damage. This localized sharpness allows effective puncture while limiting overall structural damage to the envelope.
3Productivity
If larger biopsy probes are used, then material removal is easier, but the device cannot access smaller or more specific cellular components
Solution Approach 1:
The biopsy port size and position can be optimized for different probe diameters, allowing the system to adapt to various target sizes. Smaller probes with proportionally smaller ports can target specific cellular components like nuclei or mitochondria, while larger probes can remove more bulk material, providing dynamic adaptability across different biopsy needs.
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
Enables precise and minimally invasive removal of cellular material with minimal damage to the embryo, allowing for the harvesting of embryonic stem cells without leakage or long-term harm, and accommodating smaller probes for capturing specific cellular components.
Implementation Method 1
A vacuum applied to the interior of the probe draws the cellular material into the probe itself for subsequent removal from the vesicular object.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for removing material from a vesicular object by securing the object, penetrating the object with a pipette, such pipette having a sealed distal tip and an aperture, advancing said pipette into the object in such a manner as to place the aperture directly adjacent to the material to be removed from the object, applying vacuum inside the pipette thereby drawing the material to be removed from the object into the pipette, and removing the pipette from the object in such a manner as to cut or otherwise separate the material in the pipette from the object thereby leaving the material removed from the object in the pipette while leaving the object undamaged.