Mesoscale Fluidic Filter for Accurate Motile Cell Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing home diagnostic devices for sperm sample analysis suffer from limited accuracy in estimating the number of motile cells due to contamination from immotile cells and reduced concentration at the point of quantification, particularly in systems with serially connected analysis chambers.
Innovation Solution
A mesoscale fluidic system with a cell permeable filter positioned such that the sample application compartment is below the filter and the conditioning medium compartment is above, minimizing convection and diffusion of non-motile cells and contaminants, allowing motile cells to swim through and be quantified in the analysis chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cell permeable filter is integrated to separate motile cells, then cell separation capability is improved, but contamination from immotile cells is not sufficiently reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the filtration system by positioning the cell permeable filter at the bottom of the sample chamber, creating distinct upper and lower compartments. This spatial arrangement allows motile cells to swim upward through the filter into the upper compartment while immotile cells remain in the lower compartment, significantly improving separation effectiveness and estimation accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If serially connected analysis chambers are used to analyze cell motility, then motility assessment capability is improved, but cell concentration at quantification point is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the quantification function from the migration pathway by providing a separate quantification chamber that receives cells from the analysis chambers. This allows cells to migrate through multiple analysis chambers for motility assessment while being collected and concentrated in the quantification chamber, maintaining both versatile motility assessment and sufficient cell concentration for accurate quantification.
3Device complexity
If the sample application compartment is positioned above the cell permeable filter, then device structure is simplified, but convection and diffusion of non-motile cells increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional positioning by placing the sample application compartment below the cell permeable filter instead of above it. This reversal creates a configuration where the filter acts as a barrier preventing convective and diffusive movement of immotile cells from the lower sample compartment to the upper conditioning medium compartment, while still allowing motile cells to actively swim through the filter.
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 significantly improves the accuracy of motile cell estimation by reducing contamination and ensuring only motile cells enter the analysis chamber, providing a quicker and more reliable assessment of sperm motility.
Implementation Method 1
The cell permeable filter is said to minimise mixing of the liquid of a sample applied on the sample application side with a conditioning medium present at or added on the conditioning medium side. Thus, the cell permeable filter is provided to ensure that cells are not transported from the sample application side to the conditioning medium side via convection
Implementation Method 2
The cell permeable filter is said to minimise mixing of the liquid of a sample applied on the sample application side with a conditioning medium present at or added on the conditioning medium side
Data Source
AI summary
A mesoscale fluidic system comprises a substrate having a sample chamber and an analysis chamber. The sample chamber comprises a cell permeable filter defining a sample application compartment and a conditioning medium compartment. The sample chamber has a sample inlet port in the sample application compartment. The analysis chamber has an entry port and an exit port. The conditioning medium compartment is in fluid communication with the entry port of the analysis chamber via a channel. The sample application compartment is below the cell permeable filter and the conditioning medium compartment is above the cell permeable filter. The mesoscale fluidic system is suited for analysing cellular motility in a sample. Also disclosed is a method of estimating the quantity of motile cells in a sample and a method of extracting motile cells from non-motile cells.