Smear Slide Transfer Using Color-Coded Imaging Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smear preparing apparatuses struggle to efficiently identify and separate smear slides that require image capture from those that do not, especially when they are mixed in a container, leading to inefficient image capturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A smear system comprising a smear preparing apparatus that provides identification information on smear slides, a smear transporting apparatus that identifies and transfers slides requiring image capture, and a smear-image capture apparatus that captures images based on this information, ensuring only relevant slides are processed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a smear container accommodates a mixture of smear slides for visual observation and smear slides for image capture, then the container can store multiple types of slides, but it becomes difficult to efficiently identify and separate the smear slides that require image capture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color coding to the frost section of smear slides to indicate whether image capture is required. Specifically, slides with yellow-colored frost sections require image capture, while slides with blue-colored frost sections are for visual observation only. This color differentiation allows for quick visual identification and automatic detection by imaging apparatus, resolving the contradiction between mixed storage capability and identification difficulty.
2Reliability
If all smear slides in a container are processed for image capture, then no slide is missed, but processing time increases significantly due to unnecessary captures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary marking of smear slides with color-coded frost sections before they are placed in the container. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-identify which slides require image capture, enabling the imaging apparatus to selectively process only the necessary slides (those with yellow frost sections) while skipping slides marked for visual observation only (blue frost sections). This eliminates unnecessary image captures and reduces processing time while maintaining complete coverage of all slides that actually require imaging.
3Measurement precision
If manual identification and sorting of smear slides is performed, then accurate separation is achieved, but labor intensity and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical identification and sorting operations with an automated optical detection system. The imaging apparatus uses color recognition technology to automatically detect the color of the frost section on each slide and identify whether image capture is required. This substitution of mechanical/manual processes with automated optical-mechanical systems maintains high sorting accuracy while dramatically reducing labor intensity and operational complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A smear system includes a smear transporting apparatus that transports the smear slide to a smear-image capture apparatus. The smear transporting apparatus includes: a smear-container transport part that transports the smear container with the smear slides; an identification-information acquisition part that acquires identification information on whether image capturing by the smear-image capture apparatus is necessary, from each of the smear slides accommodated in the smear container positioned on a transport path of the smear-container transport part; and a smear transfer part that transfers the smear slide whose image is to be captured to the smear-image capture apparatus on the basis of the identification information acquired by the identification-information acquisition part.