Gel Receptor Patch for Blood Staining Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blood smear examinations are labor-intensive and prone to inaccuracies due to manual processing, requiring skilled technicians and specific reaction conditions, making them challenging to perform in resource-limited settings like underdeveloped countries.
Innovation Solution
A contact-type staining patch with a gel receptor and a mesh structure that accommodates a staining solution, allowing it to maintain optimal pH and prevent leakage, which can be easily applied to a specimen to stain, fix, or decolorize, simplifying the staining process by omitting preprocessing and postprocessing steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual blood smear examination is performed by skilled technicians, then staining accuracy is improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The staining process is segmented into separate functional patches (e.g., Giemsa patch, Wright patch, Eosin patch) that can be independently selected and applied. Each patch contains pre-formulated staining reagents in gel form, dividing the complex manual staining procedure into simple, discrete steps that reduce operational difficulty while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The staining reagents are prepared in advance in a stable gel form within the patches, with optimal pH and composition pre-established. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for technicians to mix reagents or adjust conditions during the examination, reducing operational complexity while ensuring consistent, accurate staining results.
2Reliability
If conventional staining procedures are used, then staining function is achieved, but loss of time increases due to multiple preprocessing and postprocessing steps
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple staining functions (staining, buffering, fixing) are merged into a single integrated patch unit. The gel matrix simultaneously provides the staining reagent, maintains optimal pH through embedded buffers, and facilitates uniform application to the blood smear, eliminating the need for separate preprocessing and postprocessing steps while maintaining reliable staining results.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel matrix in the patch automatically maintains optimal staining conditions through self-regulating pH buffers and controlled reagent release. The patch self-applies the staining solution uniformly to the specimen without requiring manual intervention for timing or application consistency, reducing processing time while ensuring reliable staining function.
3Ease of manufacture
If staining solution is stored in liquid form, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability decreases due to leakage and degeneration
Solution Approach 1:
The staining solution is transitioned from liquid to gel phase for storage in the patch. This phase change allows the staining reagents to be manufactured using simple mixing processes while the gel structure prevents leakage and chemical degeneration during storage. The gel can be easily applied to the specimen, and the staining reagents are released in controlled amounts, maintaining both manufacturing simplicity and solution stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The gel matrix contains a porous structure that accommodates the staining solution while maintaining structural integrity. The porous gel allows controlled release of staining reagents to the specimen while preventing excessive leakage. This structure enables simple manufacturing by mixing reagents into the gel matrix, while simultaneously ensuring reliable, stable storage and controlled delivery of the staining solution.
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 contact-type staining patch enables accurate and efficient staining with minimal manual intervention, reducing the need for skilled personnel and resources, allowing for reliable blood smear examinations in various settings.
Implementation Method 1
a gel receptor provided as a gel matrix of a mesh structure in which a pore that accommodates the staining solution is formed
Implementation Method 2
the mesh structure prevents the staining solution in the pore from leaking or degenerating
Implementation Method 3
having a contact surface that comes into contact with the specimen to transfer some of the staining solution to the specimen
Implementation Method 4
a staining solution that reacts with a specimen
Implementation Method 5
a buffering solution having a predetermined pH value to form an optimal pH when a reaction occurs between the specimen and the staining sample
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a gel-phase patch that performs a function of assisting in staining during a staining process such as a process of coming into contact with a specimen such as blood to perform a staining function of staining the specimen, a process of fixing the specimen, or a process of forming an optimal pH at a specimen stained by a staining sample. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a contact-type staining patch includes a staining solution that reacts with a specimen and a gel receptor provided as a gel matrix of a mesh structure in which a pore that accommodates the staining solution is formed and the mesh structure prevents the staining solution in the pore from leaking or degenerating, and having a contact surface that comes into contact with the specimen to transfer some of the staining solution to the specimen.