Incubation Tray Test Strip Fixation via Segmented Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing incubation channels for test strips in medical diagnostics face challenges such as inadequate fixation, damage during use, and difficulty in cleaning and reagent minimization, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
An elongate incubation channel with projections and recesses for secure fixation of test strips, allowing for easy removal and high-quality imaging, along with a networkable design for efficient handling and cleaning, using a dovetail joint fastening mechanism to connect multiple channels as a unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If test strips are fixed using conventional methods in incubation channels, then the test strips can be held during incubation, but the test strips may be damaged during use and are difficult to remove intact
Solution Approach 1:
The holding element is segmented into a separate component that can be independently attached to the incubation channel. This allows the test strip to be held securely during incubation while enabling easy removal by detaching the holding element, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining test strip integrity and facilitating easy removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding element acts as an intermediary between the test strip and the incubation channel. It provides a secure attachment mechanism during incubation but can be easily removed afterward, allowing the test strip to be extracted intact without direct permanent fixation to the channel, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable holding and easy removal.
2Productivity
If multiple incubation channels are used separately, then each channel can be handled individually, but handling and cleaning become time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple incubation channels are merged into a single integrated unit with a common base and shared holding elements. This allows multiple channels to be handled and cleaned as one assembly, significantly improving productivity by reducing the number of separate handling operations required, while the modular design maintains manageable complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The common base and shared holding elements serve multiple functions across different incubation channels simultaneously. This multi-functional design enables efficient batch processing and cleaning of multiple channels together, improving productivity without requiring complex individual mechanisms for each channel.
3Stability of the object's composition
If test strips are securely fixed during incubation, then they remain stable in liquid, but they become difficult to remove without damage
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation system is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The holding element provides strong fixation during incubation but can be easily released afterward. This dynamic characteristic allows the system to adapt between requiring strong holding during the incubation process and requiring easy release for removal, resolving the contradiction between stability and strength.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3f2
AI summary
The present invention relates to an elongated incubation trough with two opposing longitudinal walls, a recess and a bottom, which can be fitted with an elongated test strip having a back and a front, wherein the test strip has its back facing the bottom of the incubation trough and is coated on its front with at least one analytical reagent, further comprising a fastening means by which the incubation trough can be connected to at least one further incubation trough to form a group of incubation troughs, characterized in that a horizontally outwardly projecting support frame is mounted on one of the longitudinal walls, and an elongated incubation trough with two opposing longitudinal walls, a recess and a bottom, which can be fitted with an elongated test strip having a back and a front.wherein the test strip faces the bottom of the incubation chamber with its back side and is coated on its front side with one or more analytical reagents, further comprising at least two retaining elements for fixing the test strip near the bottom, characterized in that the at least two retaining elements are each formed in the form of a protruding projection and have a recess near the bottom for receiving the test strip.