Stackable Growth Plate Devices for Microbial Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional growth plate systems are bulky, unreliable, expensive, and require skilled technicians, making them unsuitable for cost-sensitive applications like the food industry, where rapid and accurate detection of microorganisms is needed.
Innovation Solution
The development of improved growth plate devices and kits featuring a recessed well, raised platform, and removable peel layers with adhesive properties, allowing for user-friendly, efficient, and cost-effective testing, including a method for enumerating microorganisms using dried media culture discs and visible grids for colony counting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional growth plate systems are used, then microorganism detection can be performed, but the systems are bulky, expensive, and require skilled technicians
Solution Approach 1:
The growth plate system is segmented into modular components: individual growth plates with recessed wells, separate stacking surfaces, and optional peel layers. This segmentation allows the system to be simplified while maintaining detection functionality, reducing overall system complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable growth plates that can be used once and then discarded, eliminating the need for expensive, complex reusable systems. Each plate is designed to be inexpensive to manufacture while providing reliable detection, and the disposable nature eliminates cleaning and maintenance complexities.
2Reliability
If conventional growth plate systems are used, then testing can be performed, but the systems are bulky and require large laboratory footprint
Solution Approach 1:
Growth plates are designed with stacking surfaces that allow multiple plates to be nested vertically one on top of another. This nesting capability enables a large number of plates to be stored in a compact vertical arrangement, dramatically reducing the horizontal laboratory footprint while maintaining full testing capacity.
3Reliability
If conventional growth plate systems are used, then microorganism detection can be performed, but the systems are expensive and not user-friendly
Solution Approach 1:
The growth plates incorporate self-aligning stacking surfaces that automatically guide proper placement when plates are stacked, eliminating the need for skilled technicians to achieve correct alignment. The design includes features like recessed wells and raised platforms that self-correct minor placement errors, making the system easy to operate while maintaining reliable detection.
4Area of stationary object
If growth plates are stacked for storage and organization, then space efficiency is improved, but maintaining alignment and stability becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking surfaces feature asymmetric geometry with raised platforms on one side and corresponding recessed areas on adjacent plates. This asymmetric design creates a unique fit that ensures proper orientation and prevents misalignment, while the interlocking geometry provides mechanical stability to the stacked configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking surfaces incorporate curved or tapered edges that guide alignment during the stacking process. These curved features allow plates to self-align as they are placed together, ensuring stable vertical stacking while accommodating minor variations in plate dimensions.
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 solution provides a stable, user-friendly, and cost-effective system for microorganism detection that maintains sample integrity, supports multiple plates, and allows for accurate colony counting, addressing the limitations of conventional systems.
Implementation Method 1
The removable peel layer may include a self-wicking adhesive periphery adapted to removably adhere to the upper face of the plate
Data Source
AI summary
Culture medium devices and systems are shown and described. In one embodiment a growth plate includes an upper surface, a recessed well, a raised platform having an opposing cavity, and raised extensions having an opposing receiving aperture. Typically, the well is recessed below the top surface and the platform is above the upper surface. A growth plate assembly typically includes at least a first growth plate's raised stacking surfaces being temporarily received by a second growth plate's receiving surfaces, thereby temporarily securing growth plates together.