Sample Processing Device With Narrowing Space for Buoyant Concentration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for processing biological samples, particularly faecal or stool samples, suffer from variability and inefficiency in separating buoyant materials, leading to inconsistent test results and the need for standardization across different laboratories.
Innovation Solution
A device with a narrowing cross-sectional area and a filter or mesh at one end is used to concentrate buoyant materials by ascending them into a defined space, compatible with laboratory tubes, allowing for improved separation and concentration of buoyant materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional flotation methods are used to separate buoyant materials, then the separation process is simple and low-cost, but the concentration of buoyant materials at the surface is insufficient leading to variable test results
Solution Approach 1:
The device introduces a vertical dimension to the flotation process by creating a narrowing columnar space that concentrates buoyant materials as they ascend. The cross-sectional area decreases from bottom to top, forcing horizontal dispersion of floating materials into vertical concentration, thereby improving surface concentration without adding horizontal complexity to the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The device applies a localized narrowing geometry specifically at the upper portion where buoyant materials converge. This local structural variation creates a concentration effect precisely where needed (at the liquid surface) without requiring the entire system to be complex, maintaining simplicity in the lower portions while achieving precision at the critical interface.
2Productivity
If centrifugation is used to enhance separation of buoyant materials, then separation efficiency improves, but the device complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device creates a gravitational equipotential environment where buoyant materials naturally ascend without requiring external centrifugal forces. By designing the container geometry to guide natural buoyancy-driven flow, the system achieves separation efficiency comparable to centrifugation while eliminating the need for complex rotating mechanisms and additional energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the inherent buoyancy properties of the materials being separated to drive the concentration process. The narrowing geometry passively directs ascending materials into concentration zones without requiring active intervention, mechanical agitation, or external energy sources, thereby achieving high productivity through self-organizing natural processes.
3Quantity of substance
If larger volumes of liquid are used for flotation, then more buoyant materials can be processed, but the surface area available for concentration increases reducing the concentration effect
Solution Approach 1:
The device transforms a two-dimensional surface concentration problem into a three-dimensional volume-to-surface transition. By implementing vertical narrowing walls, the system converts horizontal surface area expansion into vertical columnar compression, allowing large sample volumes to be processed while maintaining high surface concentration through the geometric funneling effect of the narrowing space.
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs asymmetric wall geometry where the cross-sectional dimensions decrease progressively from bottom to top. This asymmetric tapering creates a natural funneling effect that directs dispersed buoyant materials from wide lower regions into concentrated upper regions, enabling the system to handle variable sample volumes while consistently achieving high surface concentration ratios.
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
This method enhances the concentration of buoyant materials at the liquid surface, reducing variability and facilitating more accurate and efficient testing, especially for parasites and eggs, by using a device that integrates with standard laboratory equipment.
Implementation Method 1
the faecal flotation relies on the ascension of eggs and ova using the difference in overall density to the flotation solution
Implementation Method 2
the fluid connection between the first and second portals is occluded by a filter or mesh mounted at the second end or between the first and second ends
Implementation Method 3
The majority of parasite ova/ eggs have a specific gravity (SG) that falls between 1.05 and 1.23, thus the faecal flotation relies on the ascension of eggs and ova using the difference in overall density to the flotation solution
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3a~3d
AI summary
A device for collecting buoyant material is described wherein the device comprises a body having a first end and a second end and walls therebetween defining an internal space, wherein the first end has a first portal therein, wherein the second end has a second portal therein, wherein the port in the first end is in fluid connection with the space, wherein the port in the second end is in fluid connection with the space, wherein the fluid connection between the first and second portals is occluded by a filter or mesh mounted at the second end or between the first and second ends to extend over a transverse area of the space at the second end or between the first and second ends, wherein the cross sectional area of the space narrows between the second end and the first end, and wherein the exterior dimensions of the of the second end of the device are for slidable installation or seating in a cooperating vessel. Also described is a method of using the device for concentrating buoyant material.