# US 10,871,790 B2 · Operatorless particle processing systems and methods

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- Number: US 10,871,790 B2
- Document ID: US10871790B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/972,992
- Filed: 2018-05-07
- Published: 2018-12-13
- Granted: 2020-12-22
- Earliest claimed: 2013-03-14
- Assignees: Cytonome/St, LLC
- Applicants: Cytonome/St, LLC
- Inventors: Johnathan Charles Sharpe; Nemanya Sedoglavich; Vladimir Shapiro; Stuart R. Ehrlich; Donald Francis Perrault, Jr.; Blair D. Morad
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10871790B2

## CPC

- G05D 21/02: characterised by the use of electric means
- G01N 15/1404: Handling flow, e.g. hydrodynamic focusing
- G01N 15/1425: {using an analyser being characterised by its control arrangement}
- G01N 15/1484: {microstructural devices}
- G01N 15/149: specially adapted for sorting particles, e.g. by their size or optical properties
- G01N 2015/1006: {for cytology}
- G01N 2015/1406: {Control of droplet point}
- G01N 2015/1452: {Adjustment of focus; Alignment}
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)

## Abstract

The present disclosure provides improved particle processing (e.g., cytometry and/or cell purification) systems and methods that can operate in an autonomous fashion. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for assemblies, systems and methods for analyzing, sorting, and/or processing (e.g., purifying, measuring, isolating, detecting and/or enriching) particles (e.g., cells, microscopic particles, etc.) where human intervention is not required and/or is minimized. The systems, assemblies and methods of the present disclosure advantageously improve run performance of particle processing systems (e.g., cell purification systems, cytometers) by significantly reducing and/or substantially eliminating the burden of operation for human intervention by automating numerous functions, features and/or steps of the disclosed systems and methods.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for automatically aligning a microfluidic chip for a particle processing system, the method comprising:
receiving a microfluidic chip into a chip receptacle;
illuminating the microfluidic chip with a radiation source;
detecting extinction signals;
coarsely scanning the chip in a first-direction, a second-direction, or both the first and second-direction to generate extinction signals;
determining a coarse slant angle based on a dimension determined from the coarse scanning and a known dimension of the microfluidic chip;
rotating the microfluidic chip by the negative of the coarse slant angle;
finely scanning the chip in a first-direction, a second-direction, or both the first- and second-direction to generate extinction signals;
determining a fine slant angle based on a dimension determined from the fine scanning and a known dimension of the microfluidic chip; and
rotating the microfluidic chip by the negative of the fine slant angle.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the microfluidic chip is removably received into the chip receptacle.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the microfluidic chip includes a pair of separated fiducials and the step of coarsely scanning includes scanning at least one of the fiducials.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a coarse scanning step increment ranges from approximately 50 microns to 200 microns.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a fine scanning step increment ranges from approximately 5 microns to 50 microns.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of coarsely scanning includes moving the microfluidic chip relative to a radiation source.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of coarsely scanning includes scanning the microfluidic chip across a plurality of microfluidic channels.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the microfluidic chip includes a plurality of pinholes associated one or more microfluidic channels and the step of coarsely scanning includes scanning the pinholes associated with the one or more microfluidic channels.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining a first-direction coarse misalignment distance based on the coarse scanning; and
translating the microfluidic chip by the negative of the first-direction coarse misalignment position.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
determining a first-direction fine misalignment distance based on the fine scanning; and
translating the microfluidic chip by the negative of the first-direction fine misalignment position.