Flexible Membrane Biopsy Extraction Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The extraction of biomarkers from samples, particularly at low concentrations in liquid biopsies like blood, serum, or saliva, and the limited availability of solid biopsies, poses challenges in maintaining sample integrity and detecting markers for early disease diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A non-destructive sample extraction method involving a device with a flexible membrane that applies a pressure cycle between 2 and 5 bar for 1 to 5 minutes, allowing for the extraction of markers from samples while maintaining their integrity, using a disposable support basket and a physiological fluid for solubilization, enabling the detection of biomarkers without degrading the sample.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high pressure variation is applied to extract biomarkers from liquid biopsy samples, then extraction efficiency is improved, but sample integrity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic pressure cycles (alternating between high and low pressure) instead of continuous high pressure to extract biomarkers. This periodic action allows efficient marker extraction while giving tissue samples time to recover between pressure cycles, thereby maintaining sample integrity for subsequent histological analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a flexible membrane as an intermediary element that transmits pressure uniformly across the sample container. This membrane allows pressure application without direct mechanical contact with the sample, preventing sample degradation while ensuring effective pressure transmission for biomarker extraction.
2Quantity of substance
If solid biopsy samples are used for biomarker detection, then marker concentration is improved, but sample availability is reduced due to need for complete histological evaluation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts biomarkers from solid biopsy samples through a liquid medium using pressure cycling, allowing the markers to be removed into the surrounding liquid. This extraction enables biomarker analysis from the same sample that remains available for complete histological evaluation, effectively separating the diagnostic functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes solid biopsy samples serve multiple functions: both as a source of biomarkers for molecular analysis and as intact tissue for histological evaluation. The same sample can thus provide information for both liquid-based biomarker detection and traditional tissue pathology.
3Adaptability or versatility
If liquid biopsy samples are used for biomarker extraction, then sample availability is improved, but marker concentration becomes too low for detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pressure cycling with multiple cycles to progressively extract biomarkers from liquid biopsy samples. The repeated application of pressure cycles accumulates extracted markers in the liquid medium, increasing detectable concentration over time without compromising the limited sample volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous pressure cycling action throughout the extraction process, ensuring that biomarker extraction from liquid biopsy samples proceeds without interruption. This continuous action maximizes the extraction efficiency from the limited sample volume, achieving sufficient marker concentration for detection.
4Productivity
If extraction time is extended to improve biomarker recovery, then extraction efficiency is improved, but sample degradation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic pressure cycles with defined duration and frequency, creating an oscillating extraction environment that prevents continuous mechanical stress on the sample. This periodic action achieves efficient biomarker recovery within a limited time frame while avoiding cumulative sample degradation that would occur with prolonged continuous extraction.
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 method allows for rapid and efficient extraction of biomarkers with maintained sample integrity, facilitating early disease diagnosis and individualized therapy choices without delaying subsequent clinical analyses.
Implementation Method 1
application of a pressure cycle on the flexible membrane for a period of 1 to 5 minutes, preferably 3 minutes; at a frequency between 1 and 2 Hz, preferably 1.5 Hz
Implementation Method 2
the hydrostatic pressure applied to the membrane of the device is between 2 and 5 bar, and is preferably 2 bar
Implementation Method 3
using a disposable support basket and a physiological fluid for solubilization, enabling the detection of biomarkers without degrading the sample
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
Method and device for extraction of markers, comprising: introducing a sample into a removable support basket placed in the housing of a cell of an extraction device provided with a flexible membrane and immersing the tissue sample in a liquid previously introduced into the housing, followed by hermetic closing of the extraction cell and application of a pressure cycle on the flexible membrane for a period of 1 to 5 minutes at a frequency between 1 and 2 Hz. Then, total or partial recovery of the liquid immersing the sample after the pressure cycle and detection of the markers present in the liquid.