Sensing for automated biological cell injection
AssigneeMekonos Limited
InventorArunava Steven BANERJEE
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Abstract
A method of controlling a needle actuator to interact with a cell is provided, the method comprising: providing an actuator comprising a tower, a stage and a needle, wherein the needle is mounted on the stage; applying an electrostatic potential between the tower and the stage to retract the needle; moving the actuator towards the cell; reducing the potential so as to allow the stage and needle to move towards the cell; applying calibration data to detect when the needle has pierced the cell; and reducing the potential further once it has been detected that the needle has pierced the cell. The cell can be a biological cell. The needle can be a micro-needle and the stage can be a micro-stage.
Claims25
A method of generating calibration data for target voltage potentials associated with cell-type data, the method comprising:
- providing a calibration apparatus comprising a manipulator and a cell trap, the manipulator comprising a tower, a stage, and a needle, wherein the needle is mounted perpendicularly on a surface of the stage;
- identifying a cell type to be calibrated;
- applying a voltage so as to pull the stage towards the tower in a retracted position;
- moving the manipulator to within a defined range of the cell trap configured to house a cell type;
- changing the voltage to allow the stage and mounted needle to be forced away from the tower and the retracted position while measuring a displacement of the stage;
- determining when the needle has reached a target region;
- and
- recording actuation data for use in cell injection for the identified cell type.
A computer-readable medium in which a program is stored for causing a computer to perform a method for generating calibration data for target voltage potentials associated with cell-type data, the method comprising:
- providing a calibration apparatus comprising a manipulator and a cell trap, the manipulator comprising a tower, a stage, and a needle, wherein the needle is mounted perpendicularly on a surface of the stage;
- identifying a cell type to be calibrated;
- applying a voltage so as to pull the stage towards the tower in a retracted position;
- moving the manipulator to within a defined range of the cell trap configured to house a cell type;
- changing the voltage to allow the stage and mounted needle to be forced away from the tower and the retracted position while measuring a displacement of the stage;
- determining when the needle has reached a target region;
- and
- recording actuation data for use in cell injection for the identified cell type.
A system for controlling a needle actuation to interact with an object or a cell, the system comprising:
- an injection device comprising a tower, stage, needle and actuator, the needle mounted perpendicularly on a surface of the stage, and the actuator arranged and configured to apply a voltage potential to the stage to move the needle toward and away from the tower;
- a cell trap configured to house a cell to be penetrated by the needle of the injection device;
- a first camera configured and arranged to monitor a proximity of the injection device to the cell trap;
- and
- a controller configured to control the movement of the injection device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.