Assessment of micro-organism presence
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAlex David Corwin, Erik Leeming Kvam, Christine Lynne Surrette, Brian Joseph Scherer, Pei-Hsin Kuo, Ralf Lenigk
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to approaches for assessing a sample or the presence of microorganisms. The sample, in certain implementations may be assessed for one or both of absence of microorganisms (sterility) and/or for concentration of said organisms (bio-burden). sample partition device may be employed that partitions the sample input volume into multiple discrete measurement zones with little or no loss of sample (e.g., zero-loss) and with little operator involvement, thereby reducing operator- and environment-based false positives.
Claims20
A cell analysis system, comprising:
- an imaging sub-system configured to automatically acquire successive images;
- and
- a processing sub-system configured to control operation of the imaging sub-system and to process data acquired using the imaging sub-system, wherein the imaging sub-system and processing sub-system in cooperation perform acts comprising:
- measuring a fill height of each sample-containing well of a plurality of wells of a well plate, wherein the sample-containing wells contain a sample that is partitioned between the sample-containing wells;
- determining a focal plane height for each sample-containing well based at least in part on the respective fill height of sample within each sample-containing well;
- acquiring, using the focal plane height determined for each sample-containing well, successive images of the respective sample-containing wells;
- determining, using the acquired successive images, a change in a measured optical parameter at each sample-containing well over time relative to a baseline;
- and
- generating an assessment of micro-organism presence within the sample based on the determined changes in the measured optical parameter at each sample-containing well over time.
A method for assessing microorganism presence within a sample, comprising:
- partitioning a sample between a plurality of wells of a well plate to form a plurality of sample-containing wells;
- measuring a fill height of each sample-containing well of the plurality of sample-containing;
- determining a focal plane height for each sample-containing well based at least in part on the respective fill height of sample within each sample-containing well;
- acquiring, using the focal plane height determined for each sample-containing well, successive images of the respective sample-containing wells;
- determining, using the acquired successive images, a change in a measured optical parameter at each sample-containing well over time relative to a baseline;
- and
- generating an assessment of micro-organism presence within the sample based on the determined changes in the measured optical parameter at each sample-containing well over time.
A method for assessing analyzing a well plate, comprising:
- partitioning a sample between a plurality of wells of a well plate to form a plurality of sample-containing wells;
- measuring a fill height of each sample-containing well of the plurality of sample-containing;
- generating an assessment of micro-organism presence within the sample based on images acquired over time of the sample-containing wells at, for each sample containing well, a respective focal plane height determined based at least in part on the respective fill height of each sample-containing well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.