Pipette Imaging Device for Precision Pipetting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laboratory pipettes face challenges in ensuring high reliability and safety due to the possibility of repetitive pipetting errors, especially when handling small volumes and navigating small vessels, which increases workload and the risk of incorrect well selection or volume dispensing.
Innovation Solution
Integration of an imaging device element, such as a digital camera, into the pipette to monitor and guide the pipetting process, providing a magnified view of the tip area for precise placement and image recognition for automatic warnings and parameter setting, including bar code reading for improved operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual pipetting operations are performed repeatedly, then productivity is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to increased risk of pipetting errors
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging device provides real-time visual feedback to the user during pipetting operations, allowing immediate detection and correction of positioning errors. The system captures images of the tip position and provides feedback signals to guide proper placement, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains high accuracy during repetitive operations without increasing user workload
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely manual mechanical positioning with an automated imaging and feedback system. Instead of relying solely on user skill and visual estimation, the system uses automated image capture and analysis to detect tip position and provide guidance, substituting mechanical human vision and judgment with an automated optical measurement and feedback system
2Manufacturing precision
If visual monitoring of tip placement is enhanced, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging device serves multiple functions simultaneously: it monitors tip placement position, detects liquid meniscus position, verifies well identification, and provides visual feedback to the user. By consolidating these multiple monitoring and guidance functions into a single imaging system, the patent achieves high precision without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging device acts as an intermediary between the user and the pipetting target. Rather than requiring direct visual contact between the user's eye and the small well, the imaging system captures an enlarged image and presents it to the user through a display or eyepiece, effectively mediating the visual interaction and enabling precise positioning without requiring the user to directly view the small target
3Measurement precision
If the imaging device is integrated into the pipette, then measurement precision is improved, but weight of moving object increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thin-film imaging components and lightweight optical elements within the imaging device. By using thin-film technologies for the imaging sensor and optical components, the system achieves high measurement precision while minimizing the added weight of the imaging system
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging device is nested within the existing pipette structure, utilizing the available internal space efficiently. The imaging components are integrated into the handle body, with the optical path arranged to view through or near the existing tip structure, allowing the imaging system to be housed within the existing form factor without significant weight addition
Data Source
AI summary
A pipette comprising a cylinder with a piston movable inside the cylinder for aspiring and dispensing liquid, and a handle portion for gripping the pipette, wherein the pipette further comprises an imaging device element for obtaining images that assist the use of the pipette.