Robotic Protein Crystallization Cabinet for Stable High-Throughput Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated sample analysis systems for protein crystallization are inflexible, require extensive laboratory space, and cause sample damage due to manual handling and vibration, limiting throughput and sample stability.
Innovation Solution
An automated biological sample analysis system with a temperature-controlled cabinet that houses sample storage, transport, and imaging systems, utilizing a multi-axis robot and plate handler to minimize handling and vibration, and allows for remote software control, enabling efficient and flexible analysis of multiple samples in varying formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual handling is used to examine sample wells, then flexibility in operation is maintained, but sample damage increases due to shock and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical handling with an automated robotic system that uses precise motor control and computer vision to examine sample wells. The robot arm with imaging capabilities eliminates physical contact with fragile protein crystals, substituting mechanical observation with optical detection, thereby preventing sample damage while maintaining operational flexibility through software control.
2Productivity
If a technician manually views each sample well, then sample analysis can be performed, but throughput remains low
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the robotic platform independently performs sample examination without continuous human intervention. The automated imaging system captures images of multiple sample wells, and computer vision algorithms automatically analyze the images to detect crystal formation, allowing the system to process numerous samples sequentially without requiring a technician to physically examine each well, thereby dramatically increasing throughput.
3Stability of the object's composition
If samples are stored in a refrigerated room with manual access, then sample stability is maintained, but laboratory space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the refrigerated storage environment with the automated analysis system into a single integrated unit. The temperature-controlled chamber houses both the sample storage racks and the robotic examination system, eliminating the need for separate refrigerated rooms and manual access areas. This consolidation maintains sample stability through continuous temperature control while reducing the total laboratory footprint by combining previously separate functions.
4Productivity
If mega-incubator systems are used for large-scale operations, then automation efficiency increases, but system flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamic, reconfigurable components including a programmable robotic arm, adjustable imaging parameters, and software-controlled sample handling protocols. The robot can be reprogrammed to accommodate different plate formats and examination protocols, and the imaging system can adjust its parameters dynamically based on sample type and desired analysis depth, providing flexibility comparable to manual systems while maintaining automated efficiency.
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 system reduces laboratory space requirements, minimizes sample damage, and increases throughput by automating the incubation and imaging of protein samples while maintaining stable environmental conditions, allowing for efficient analysis of multiple samples in a controlled environment.
Implementation Method 1
A temperature controlled cabinet houses sample storage, sample transport, and sample imaging systems
Implementation Method 2
An imaging system automatically images one or more samples in the multi-well plate
Data Source
AI summary
An automated biological sample analysis system and method for use in incubating and analyzing multiple samples for protein crystallization. A temperature controlled cabinet houses sample storage, sample transport, and sample imaging systems. The operation of the system is automated and can be controlled by software, which can be reconfigured remotely. An array of storage shelves includes multiple shelf columns arranged around a core. Multiple banks of removable shelves arranged as magazines are accessed through a door on the cabinet. Each shelf stores a multi-well plate and different sizes can be stored in different shelves. The core houses a sample transport system that includes a multi-axis robot that rotates about a vertical axis to access the shelves in the shelf array. The transport system retrieves and replaces the multi-well plates in the shelves and can move plates from the shelves to an imaging system where each sample can be automatically imaged.