Self-Triggering Flow Cytometer with Digital Signal Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flow-cytometers face issues with integration, accuracy, manufacturing complexity, and high costs, limiting their adoption and effectiveness, especially in portable and high-volume applications.
Innovation Solution
A flow cytometer design featuring an excitation light source that induces luminescence in bio-samples, with the luminescence being dispersed across multiple photo-detectors and processed by a digital signal processor for accurate analysis, eliminating the need for hardware filters and enabling self-triggering capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional flow-cytometer design is used with separate triggering devices and hardware filters, then detection capability is maintained, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the triggering function and wavelength discrimination function into the photo-detector array itself. Each photo-detector in the array simultaneously serves as both a trigger source and a wavelength-specific detector, eliminating the need for separate triggering devices and hardware filters. This merging reduces device complexity while maintaining detection capability through the digital processing of signals from multiple photo-detectors.
Solution Approach 2:
The photo-detector array performs multiple functions: it detects luminescence at different wavelengths, triggers data acquisition, and provides wavelength discrimination. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby reducing overall device complexity and manufacturing cost while preserving full detection capability.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional flow-cytometer design with hardware filters is used, then wavelength discrimination is achieved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical hardware filter system with a digital signal processing system. Instead of using physical filters to separate wavelengths, the system uses software algorithms to process and differentiate signals from multiple photo-detectors, achieving wavelength discrimination through computation rather than physical filtering. This substitution reduces manufacturing cost and device complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
3Productivity
If conventional flow-cytometer design is used, then detection sensitivity is maintained, but data analysis throughput and efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous data acquisition and processing by eliminating the need for sequential filtering operations. The photo-detector array simultaneously captures luminescence signals across multiple wavelengths, and the digital signal processing unit continuously analyzes all channels in parallel, maximizing data analysis throughput without sacrificing detection sensitivity through lossy signal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary signal capture across all wavelength channels simultaneously using the photo-detector array, storing the complete spectral information before analysis. This preliminary capture of all relevant data allows for flexible, high-speed digital processing while preserving detection sensitivity, as no data is lost during acquisition.
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 design enhances accuracy, reduces manufacturing complexity and costs, and improves data analysis throughput, making it suitable for portable and high-volume applications while maintaining detection sensitivity for multiple bio-cell types.
Implementation Method 1
an excitation light source that illuminates and excites a bio-sample to luminescence
Implementation Method 2
The luminescence is directed to a dispersal element that spatially spreads the wavelength spectrum over a plurality of photo-detectors
Implementation Method 3
Analog signals from the photo-detectors are converted (digitized) into digital signals
Data Source
AI summary
A flow-cytometer has an excitation light source generating an excitation light that excites one or more bio-cells in a bio-sample carried by a flow path to luminesce. The flow-cytometer includes a spectrum dispersive element that disperses the luminescent light generated by the bio-sample into a photo-detector array. The flow-cytometer further includes a digital signal processor (DSP) that receives signals from the photo-detector array and generates a self-triggering signal based on the luminescent light generated by the bio-cells in bio-sample. The self-triggering signal triggers data capture in the DSP to improve synchronization with the data generated from signals received from the photo-detector array.