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US 2006/0153736 A1Published application
Sample processing system
OwnerKrishan Kalra, Wallace Chang +2inventors
InventorsKrishan Kalra, Wallace Chang, Ravishankar Melkote, Shahzi Iqbal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In accordance with an embodiment of a system for handling and processing chemical and/or biological samples, a MicroChamber comprises a substrate, a reservoir formed on the substrate for receiving a chemical and/or biological sample, and an encoder such as a barcode or other suitable device. The encoder encodes information describing at least one characteristic of the substrate and/or reservoir.
Claims233
An apparatus comprising:
- a substrate;
- and
- a reservoir formed on the substrate to enclose at least a portion of a chemical and/or biological sample, wherein the reservoir is automatically formed as part of an automated testing process of the chemical and/or biological sample.
An apparatus comprising:
- a substrate;
- and
- a barrier formed on the substrate to enclose at least a portion of a chemical and/or biological sample to be processed by an automated sample processing system, wherein the barrier encloses a reservoir that is automatically sealable at least once after the sample is introduced during automated sample processing.
A cover comprising:
- a vesicle coupled to the cover and containing a substance to be dispensed on the samplecover, wherein the cover is positionable over and removable from at least a portion of a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate.
A cover comprising:
- a substrate;
- a barrier formed on the substrate to enclose at least a portion of a chemical and/or biological sample;
- a cover positionable over the barrier;
- and
- a vesicle coupled to the cover and containing a substance to be dispensed on the sample.
2 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a cover adapted to enclose and secure a Micro-chamber containing a chemical and/or biological sample in a reservoir on a substrate;
- and
- a vesicle coupled to the cover and containing a reagent to be dispensed on the sample, wherein the cover is removable from the reservoir.
The system according to claim 92 further comprising:
- a plurality of cover dispensers configured to dispense covers of different sizes.
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system adapted to perform an automated process to:
- form a Micro-chamber on a substrate, dispense at least one selected reactant to cause reactions in the Micro-chamber, mix Micro-chamber contents, and remove a cover from the Micro-chamber.
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system adapted to concurrently and individually control a plurality of micro-environments within a corresponding plurality of Micro-chambers on a substrate.
A method of processing a sample comprising:
- automatically:
- forming a reservoir around at least a portion of the sample on a substrate;
- dispensing at least one selected reactant in the reservoir;
- and
- positioning a cover to enclose the reservoir during a reaction phase of processing the sample.
2 more elements
A sample processing system comprising:
- a controller configured to automatically control components in the system to create a reservoir for holding at least a portion of a sample on a substrate, to place a cover to enclose the reservoir and remove the cover, and to dispense one or more reagents in the reservoir.
An apparatus comprising:
- an automated sample processing system configured to apply one or more reagents to a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate, the sample processing system further comprising:
- a robotic device configured to create a barrier in a specified position on the substrate.
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system configured to create a Micro-chamber containing a sample on a substrate.
A method of processing a sample comprising:
- automatically covering a Micro-chamber on a substrate;
- automatically removing a cover from the Micro-chamber;
- treating a sample in the Micro-chamber with at least one selected fluid;
- and
- automatically removing the cover from the Micro-chamber.
2 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system configured to automatically:
- dispense a substance in a predefined pattern to form a reservoir on a substrate;
- and
- mix contents of the reservoir.
1 more element
An apparatus comprising:
- a liquid dispenser that programmably dispenses liquid to a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate in a selected volume range including a capability to consistently dispense a selected liquid in volumes as low as 0.1 ul;
- and
- a pipette tip handling device coupled to the liquid dispenser that aspirates and dispenses a micro-volume of the selected liquid via a pipette tip selected from among a plurality of different sized pipette tips.
An apparatus comprising:
- a liquid dispenser that programmably dispenses liquid to a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate in a selected volume range;
- and
- a pipette tip handling device coupled to the liquid dispenser that aspirates and dispenses a micro-volume of the selected liquid via a pipette tip selected from among a plurality of different sized pipette tips.
An apparatus comprising:
- an automated cover handling device adapted to create a Micro-chamber on a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate;
- a temperature control assembly operable in combination with the automated cover handling device, the temperature control assembly having active heating and cooling that are independently programmable for individual substrates of a plurality of substrates;
- and
- a sealing assembly that seals the Micro-chamber during a temperature control cycle, wherein the sealing assembly includes a sealant pen operable operable under automated program control to selectively eject a pattern of sealant and seal the Micro-chamber.
1 more element
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample handling system adapted to apply at least one selected reagent to a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate in an automated process;
- an automated cover handling device configured to operate in combination with the sample processing system to automate placement and removal of Micro-chamber covers and create a Micro-chamber on the substrate;
- a temperature control assembly coupled to the sample processing system and the automated cover handling device, the temperature control assembly being adapted to heat and actively cool individual substrates of a plurality of substrates independently and programmably during a temperature cycle;
- and
- a substrate carrier comprising a carrier frame that reduces thermal cross-talk between the substrates.
2 more elements
A sample processing system comprising:
- a controller operable to control performance of multiple diverse sample processing applications simultaneously on a plurality of substrates;
- and
- a temperature control assembly operable to control the temperature of the plurality of substrates individually.
An apparatus comprising:
- a fluid dispenser operative in a system for processing chemical and/or biological samples, the fluid dispenser being adapted to dispense one or more selected fluids to a selected sample;
- and
- a fluid level detector comprising a sensor configured to detect an amount of fluid available to be dispensed.
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system adapted to apply at least one selected reagent to a chemical and/or biological sample in an automated process, the sample processing system further comprising one or more reagent/probe containers;
- a vacuum and pressure source coupled to the sample processing system and operative for dispensing fluids;
- a vacuum and pressure sensor coupled to the sample processing system and operative for measuring a condition of the reagent/probe containers;
- and
- a fluid level detector coupled to the sample processing system, the vacuum and pressure source, and the vacuum and pressure sensor, the fluid level detection device being adapted to detect fluid level in the reagent/probe containers selectively based on either vacuum or pressure changes.
2 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a sample processing system configured to apply at least one selected reagent to a chemical and/or biological sample on a substrate in an automated process;
- and
- a waste separation system coupled to the sample processing system and configured to divert effluent waste from the sample processing system into a plurality of separate parts under program control.
A system comprising:
- a sample processing system configured to create reservoirs around a pre-existing sample on a substrate, and to dispense reagents on the sample;
- a controller adapted to connect to a network, communicate with a plurality of sample processing systems, and collect sample processing information from the plurality of sample processing systems.
A system comprising:
- a network adapted to communicate with a plurality of sample processing systems and collect sample processing information from the plurality of sample processing systems.
A method of operating on a network comprising:
- communicating with a plurality of sample processing systems;
- and
- collecting sample processing information from the plurality of sample processing systems.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.