Plume Arrival Time Determination in Laser Ablation
AssigneeStandard BioTools Canada Inc.
InventorsAdam CAREW, Alexander LOBODA
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and systems to calculate the arrival time window of a plume at an analyzer is presented. The plume is generated from a tissue or geological sample by laser ablation. In some embodiments, an external sensor measures the ambient parameters such as temperature and pressure to calculate the arrival time window more accurately. In other embodiments, direct measurement of plume arrival times or non-contact measurement of the flow speed of the plume in a tube are used to determine the arrival time window of the plume at an analyzer.
Claims11
A method for use in imaging mass spectrometry, comprising:
- generating a plume from a sample tissue using laser ablation,
- causing the plume to flow in a carrier gas along a plume transfer path to an analyzer,
- measuring a set of parameters of the carrier gas at one or more locations along the plume transfer path, wherein the set of parameters includes at least one of a temperature and a pressure, and
- utilizing the set of parameters in combination with a flow rate of the carrier gas to determine an arrival time of the plume at the analyzer.
A method for use in imaging mass spectrometry, comprising:
- generating a plume from a sample tissue using laser ablation,
- causing the plume to flow to an analyzer,
- measuring plume arrival times at the analyzer for a plurality of plumes,
- determining a plume acquisition window timing based on the measurements,
- wherein the determination of the plume acquisition window is based on an external standard included on a same substrate as a tissue sample.
A method for use in imaging mass spectrometry, comprising:
- generating a plume from a sample tissue using laser ablation,
- causing the plume to flow to an analyzer through a transfer tube,
- measuring flow speed of the plume in the transfer tube with a non-contact sensor, and
- calculating a plume acquisition window based on the measurement.
An imaging mass spectrometric system, comprising:
- a laser configured to generate radiation suitable for causing ablation of a sample to generate an ablation plume,
- an analyzer configured to receive the ablation plume and generate a mass imaging analysis of the plume,
- a transfer tube positioned to receive the plume and provide a flow path for delivering the plume to the analyzer,
- a source of carrier gas configured to provide a flow of a carrier gas over the sample to facilitate flow of the ablation plume through the transfer tube,
- at least one of a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor positioned relative to the transfer tube to measure at least one of temperature and pressure at one or more locations along the flow path, and
- a controller in communication with said temperature and pressure sensor, the controller being configured to receive any of temperature and pressure data generated by the respective sensor and process the data for correcting a reference travel time of the plume from the ablation site to the analyzer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.