Removable Flow Chamber for Microscope Cell Culture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cell culture devices are cumbersome to use with optical microscopes, particularly when exchanging or transporting cell cultures, as they fail to efficiently replicate mechanical stimuli essential for endothelial cell function, requiring improved designs for observation and maintenance of in vitro conditions.
Innovation Solution
A cell culture device with a removable flow chamber that can be easily inserted and removed from a housing configured for an optical microscope, featuring a heating system, flow paths, and sensors to control temperature and flow rate, allowing for continuous observation and exchange of cell cultures without tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cell culture device uses a fixed integrated design, then the mechanical stimuli control and temperature regulation are stable, but the device becomes cumbersome and difficult to exchange or transport for microscope observation
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional modules: a removable flow chamber for cell culture observation and a stationary housing containing the pump, heater, and control systems. This segmentation allows the flow chamber to be easily exchanged while the control systems remain in place, resolving the contradiction between ease of exchange and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow chamber is extracted as a separate removable component from the housing, allowing it to be taken out for microscope observation and replaced with another chamber. This extraction enables easy exchange of cell cultures while maintaining the integrated control systems in the housing.
2Ease of operation
If the flow chamber is permanently fixed in the housing, then the mechanical stimuli and temperature control are maintained, but the cell culture cannot be easily transported to the microscope for observation
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the device into a removable flow chamber and a stationary housing with control systems, the chamber can be transported to the microscope while the housing remains stationary with stable control systems intact, resolving the contradiction between transportability and control stability.
3Ease of operation
If the device is designed as a compact integrated system, then it fits on standard microscope stages, but the flow chamber exchange requires tools and is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The segmentation of the flow chamber as a separate module with simple engagement features enables tool-free exchange while maintaining a compact footprint that fits on microscope stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The extracted flow chamber is designed with simple mechanical interfaces that allow manual insertion and removal without tools, enabling quick exchange while keeping the overall device compact enough for microscope use.
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
Enables efficient and tool-free exchange of cell cultures while maintaining controlled mechanical stimuli, facilitating reliable in vitro experiments by integrating essential functionalities within a compact, standard microscope-compatible system.
Implementation Method 1
a heater arranged in the internal space of the housing for heating said fluid medium to be guided through the flow chamber
Implementation Method 2
a pump for pumping said fluid medium through the first flow path into the internal space of the flow chamber and through the second flow path out of the internal space of the flow chamber
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a cell culture device (1) for use with an optical microscope (40), comprising a housing (10) that is configured to be placed onto a stage of an optical microscope (40) in front of an objective (41) of the microscope (40), the housing (10) enclosing an internal space (11) of the housing (10), a removable flow chamber (2) enclosing an internal space (20) for accommodating a cell culture (CC) comprising living biological cells, a heater (3) arranged in the internal space (11) of the housing (10) for heating said fluid medium (M) to be guided through the flow chamber (2), a first flow path (P1) arranged in the internal space (11) of the housing (10) for guiding said fluid medium (M) towards the flow chamber (2) via said heater (3), and a second flow path (P2) arranged in the internal space (11) of the housing (2) for guiding said fluid medium (M) away from the flow chamber (2), and a pump (4) for pumping said fluid medium (M) through the first flow path (P1) into the internal space (20) of the flow chamber (2) and through the second flow path (P2) out of the internal space (20) of the flow chamber (2) when the flow chamber (2) is inserted into the internal space (11) of the housing (10).