Mobile Slide Imaging Kit for Faecal Egg Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current faecal egg counting methods, such as the McMaster slide, are time-intensive, prone to operator error, and expensive to manufacture, and existing slide readers for remote analysis lack proper alignment and focusing mechanisms, making them difficult to use in field settings for efficient imaging of large flotation chambers.
Innovation Solution
A mobile kit with a slide reader that images a linearly elongated liquid sample chamber, allowing full-length imaging with a mobile phone, featuring an attachment module for accurate alignment, a track to maintain slide position, and visual indicia for focusing and automated starting/stopping, enabling efficient imaging of microscopic organisms like faecal eggs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional McMaster slide with square flotation chambers is used, then the slide can be manufactured with standard glass plates, but the large chamber area requires continuous slow movement of the microscope stage to view all grid areas, making the process time-intensive and prone to operator error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the flotation chamber into a linear array of multiple smaller rectangular compartments instead of one large square chamber. This segmentation allows the imaging system to capture multiple compartments in sequence through linear motion, reducing the time required to examine the entire chamber while maintaining adequate viewing area for each compartment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional square chamber viewed through continuous stage movement to a one-dimensional linear array of compartments viewed through linear motion of the slide itself. This dimensional change simplifies the imaging process and reduces examination time by eliminating the need for complex two-axis stage movement.
2Ease of operation
If a mobile phone is coupled to a slide reader for remote imaging, then field use is enabled, but without proper alignment and focusing mechanisms the system is difficult to use and lacks reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates alignment and focusing mechanisms that enable the mobile phone to self-align with the slide and self-focus on the sample. The system includes mechanical guides and adjustable components that allow the user to easily achieve proper alignment and focus without requiring complex manual adjustments or specialized training, thereby enabling reliable field use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an attachment mechanism as an intermediary between the mobile phone and slide reader that provides mechanical alignment guides and positioning features. This intermediary component ensures reliable alignment and connection while maintaining ease of operation in field conditions.
3Ease of manufacture
If two glass plates are used to construct the McMaster slide, then the slide can hold the flotation chamber, but the contoured lower plate requires machining for manufacture, making the slide expensive to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses two identical flat glass plates instead of one flat and one contoured plate. This homogenization of the plate design eliminates the need for complex machining of the lower plate, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while still providing the necessary chamber structure through the combination of the two flat plates.
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 kit allows for efficient, accurate, and cost-effective imaging of faecal eggs in remote locations, reducing operator error and manufacturing costs, while enabling automated analysis and real-time health monitoring of animals.
Implementation Method 1
image a liquid sample chamber of the slide through the lens
Implementation Method 2
image a liquid sample chamber of the slide through the lens
Implementation Method 3
The slide reader has a lens for imaging the chamber of the slide
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile kit for imaging microscopic organisms in a liquid sample, comprises a slide having a liquid sample chamber with a liquid sample inlet, and a slide reader containing a lens and configured to receive the slide and image the liquid sample chamber through the lens using a mobile imaging device that is coupled to the slide reader. The liquid sample chamber of the slide is a linear elongated liquid sample chamber, and the slide reader comprises a track configured to receive the slide and guide movement of the slide along the track allowing the length of the linear elongated liquid sample chamber to be imaged through the lens and a drive module configured to move the slide along the track. The mobile kit also includes a substantially planar attachment module having an upper surface, a lower surface, and an aperture extending between the surfaces, wherein the upper surface is configured for detachably attaching to a mobile imaging device and the lower surface is configured to detachably attach to the slide reader such that a lens of the mobile imaging device is aligned with the lens of the slide reader through the aperture.