Sample Container Lid Lifting for Condensation-Free Optical Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inspection devices face challenges in preventing or rapidly removing dew condensation on sample containers without causing a heat shock to the samples, particularly during time-lapse observations of rapidly growing bacteria, as conventional heating methods risk overheating the samples.
Innovation Solution
An inspection device with an isothermal part, detection part, and transportation part, featuring a mechanism that lifts the lid of the sample container to create a gap for dew condensation removal, using heaters to raise the lid temperature above the ambient temperature without affecting the sample, and includes a dew condensation prevention mechanism in the transportation mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a camera is disposed inside a hollow needle for intraluminal imaging, then imaging capability is provided, but the needle structure becomes complex and manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection device is divided into separate functional modules: an inspection unit with imaging device and light source, and a puncture needle unit. These modules can be assembled and disassembled independently, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining imaging capability within the needle assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection device is designed to perform multiple functions: imaging, illumination, and potential therapeutic interventions. The modular design allows the same base needle structure to accommodate different inspection devices for various imaging modalities (optical, fluorescent, etc.).
2Reliability
If insulation layers are added to protect wires from corrosion by saline solution, then wire reliability is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Thin flexible insulation layers are applied to wire surfaces to provide corrosion protection. These thin films maintain wire flexibility and electrical conductivity while protecting against saline solution degradation, avoiding the need for bulky protective structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire construction uses composite material structures combining conductive core materials with protective insulation layers. This composite approach provides both electrical functionality and corrosion resistance in a integrated structure rather than separate components.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The purpose of the present invention is to embody an inspection device wherein dew condensation in a sample container, in particular, in the lid thereof can be prevented or quickly removed without giving heat shock to a sample in the sample container. For this purpose, provided is an inspection device comprising an isothermal part 110 which comprises a rack 111 and maintains a sample container 150 storing a sample in a temperature-controlled environment, said sample container 150 comprising a plate and a lid, a detection part 120 which comprises an optical device for observing and inspecting the sample stored in the sample container, and a transportation part 130 which transports the sample container from the isothermal part to the detection part and vice versa, wherein at least one of the isothermal part, detection part and transportation part is provided with a member by which the lid of the sample container is held in a state lifted from the plate.