Automated Microscope Slide Feeder with Encoded Data Tags
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional biomedical microscopy is laborious and time-consuming, as it requires manual evaluation of microscope slides, which delays treatment and lacks efficient methods for uniquely identifying slides and linking them with their associated data, especially when slides are not in their assigned locations or when regions of interest on the slides are not directly addressable.
Innovation Solution
An automated system for microscopic analysis that includes a slide magazine with encoded data on the slides, a slide feeder for precise movement, and electronically-addressable position tags for accurate positioning, allowing for automated data retrieval and analysis, and a microscope system capable of capturing high-speed images with sensors to correct for movement, enabling efficient and accurate analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual evaluation of microscope slides is used, then the process is simple and direct, but it is laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated slide analysis where the microscope system itself performs the evaluation functions previously requiring human microscopists. The automated image analysis algorithms process slides independently, eliminating manual intervention while maintaining diagnostic capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical slide handling and visual evaluation with automated mechanical systems (robotic slide feeders, precision positioning stages) and computational image analysis. This substitution dramatically increases throughput while reducing analysis time per slide.
2Reliability
If slides are stored in a magazine without encoded identification, then the storage system is simple, but slide identification and data association become unreliable when slides are not in assigned locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces encoded data carriers (barcodes, RFID tags, or other identification markers) as intermediaries between the physical slide and its digital record. These encodings serve as reliable identifiers that remain attached to slides regardless of their position in the magazine, enabling accurate tracking and data association.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-encodes identification data on slides before they are placed in the magazine. This preliminary action ensures that identification capability is built into the slide itself, eliminating the need for complex position-tracking mechanisms and enabling reliable identification from the outset.
3Productivity
If automated slide analysis is implemented, then analysis speed increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the automated microscope system to perform multiple functions: automated slide feeding, precision positioning, image capture, image analysis, and result reporting. By consolidating these functions into a single integrated platform, the system achieves high throughput without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the slide handling mechanism, imaging system, and analysis software into an integrated automated platform. This consolidation allows coordinated operation of multiple components while reducing the overall system complexity compared to separate manual operations.
4Loss of time
If high-speed image capture is used, then analysis time decreases, but movement artifacts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates real-time feedback mechanisms where sensors detect slide position and stage movement during image capture. This feedback information is used to correct positional variations and compensate for movement artifacts, maintaining image quality even during high-speed capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary stabilization of the slide and stage positioning before initiating high-speed image capture. This pre-positioning action minimizes movement during the critical exposure period, reducing artifacts while maintaining fast capture speeds.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for automated microscopic analysis of a plurality of data-encoded microscope slides that provides that data written to or read from the slides may include images, analysis protocols, analytic results and other pertinent data. The system may also encompass a magazine that contains a plurality of data encoded slides.