Pressurized 3D Biopsy Staining for Uniform Tissue Penetration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current biopsy methods face challenges in obtaining large tissue samples with sufficient material for comprehensive analysis, leading to tissue loss during processing and inefficient 3D staining due to diffusion, which can result in incomplete staining and inaccurate diagnoses.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for actively staining 3D tissue samples using a tube under pressure, minimizing tissue loss and ensuring complete staining through the entire sample by forcing a tissue processing agent into the tissue with a defined pressure, allowing for faster and more homogeneous staining.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If staining is performed by diffusion in an open container, then the tissue sample can be accessed from all sides, but the staining process takes very long (24 hours or more) and the inner region remains unstained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses hydraulic pressure to force staining fluid through the tissue sample. A pump delivers staining fluid under pressure (e.g., 1-10 bar) through a tube that penetrates the tissue, enabling rapid and homogeneous staining throughout the entire sample volume within minutes rather than hours or days.
Solution Approach 2:
The tissue sample is penetrated by multiple tubes distributed throughout its volume. Each tube delivers staining fluid independently, ensuring that all regions of the tissue receive adequate staining simultaneously, eliminating the gradient effect seen in diffusion-based methods.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If smaller needles are used for biopsy, then patient comfort and safety improve, but the amount of tissue sample obtained is insufficient for comprehensive analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables a single small biopsy sample to serve multiple diagnostic functions. By preserving the 3D architecture and enabling comprehensive molecular analysis of the entire sample through rapid staining and imaging, the system allows one small tissue extract to provide information that would traditionally require multiple larger biopsies.
3Reliability
If traditional histopathology processing is used, then tissue samples can be analyzed, but a significant fraction of tissue is lost during fixation, embedding and slicing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical slicing process with optical sectioning through light-sheet microscopy. The entire 3D tissue sample is imaged non-invasively using light sheets that can penetrate the tissue and capture high-resolution images of fluorescently labeled structures throughout the volume, eliminating the need for physical sectioning and embedding.
4Measurement precision
If biopsy samples are taken from multiple locations to assess tumor heterogeneity, then diagnostic accuracy improves, but patient discomfort and procedural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from sampling multiple discrete 2D locations to analyzing the complete 3D architecture of a single biopsy site. Light-sheet microscopy provides volumetric imaging that captures spatial relationships and heterogeneity throughout the entire tissue sample, offering comprehensive diagnostic information from one location.
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 method achieves up to 100× time improvement in staining efficiency, providing a homogeneous stain distribution and preserving the 3D tissue architecture for detailed analysis, enabling tumor heterogeneity mapping and accurate molecular diagnostics.
Implementation Method 1
a pumping device (84) configured for supplying a tissue processing fluid under pressure into the tube (20)
Implementation Method 2
staining occurs through diffusion, for example in a set up as shown at the bottom of FIG. 1
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for processing a 3D tissue sample is provided, comprising the steps of receiving a tube with an inner space and two open ends, wherein the tube is configured to retain the 3D tissue sample in the inner space, arranging the tube so that one of the two open ends of the tube is located at a fluid channel, and forcing or actively pressing a tissue processing agent through the fluid channel and into the tube so that the tissue processing agent passes through the tissue.