Cell picking device
AssigneeShimadzu Corporation
InventorsMika Okada, Akari Takeda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A suction arm advances in an axial direction of a pipette tip such that an end of the pipette tip comes into contact with a bottom surface of a sample container while the pipette tip attached to a suction arm is tilted with respect to a vertical direction. Next, the suction arm is moved such that the end of the pipette tip scans the bottom surface of the sample container in a horizontal direction toward a predetermined position. Subsequently, at the predetermined position, the suction arm is further tilted by a predetermined angle such that the end of the pipette tip is lifted and a base of the pipette tip is lowered. Thereafter, the suction arm performs a sucking operation such that a sample is sucked through the end of the pipette tip.
Claims11
A cell picking device for sucking cells from a liquid sample in a sample container using a pipette tip, comprising:
- a suction arm configured to receive the pipette tip, such that the pipette tip is attached to the suction arm;
- a first driver configured to drive the suction arm and cause the suction arm to perform a sucking operation;
- and
- a controller that controls an operation of the first driver, wherein the controller is configured to:
- cause the first driver to advance the suction arm in an axial direction of the pipette tip and to tilt the pipette tip such that an end of the pipette tip comes into contact with a bottom surface of the sample container and to tilt the suction arm relative to a vertical direction such that the pipette tip attached to the suction arm is bent at a first tilt angle by the bottom surface of the sample container,
- cause the first driver to move the suction arm such that the end of the pipette tip scans the bottom surface of the sample container in a horizontal direction toward a predetermined position,
- cause the first driver to further tilt the suction arm by a predetermined angle by rotating the pipette tip such that the pipette tip is bent at a second tilt angle that is more horizontal than the first tilt angle, and
- cause the suction arm to perform a sucking operation such that a sample is sucked through the end of the pipette tip by:
- causing the suction arm to advance towards and press the end of the pipette tip against the bottom surface of the sample container, such that an elastic material of the pipette tip is bent due to the pressing of the end of the pipette tip against the bottom surface of the sample container, and
- while the end of the pipette tip is bent and is in contact with the bottom surface of the sample container, cause the suction arm to move such that the pipette tip:
- scans the bottom surface of the sample container in a horizontal direction;
- and
- separates cells adsorbed to the bottom surface of the sample container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.