Patents Examined by Alexander Noguerola
  • Patent number: 9279797
    Abstract: An electro-optical stimulation and recording system is disclosed, including a substrate and a plurality of wells coupled to the substrate. The system also includes at least one electrode set disposed proximate a respective one of the plurality of wells, wherein the electrode set comprises at least one electrode configured to collect an electric signal associated with at least a portion of the respective well. The system also includes a light-emitting element set corresponding to a respective one of the wells and configured to deliver optical stimulation to at least a portion of the respective well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: AXION BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Isaac Perry Clements, Amanda Jervis Preyer, Swaminathan Rajaraman, Daniel Christopher Millard, James David Ross
  • Patent number: 9274098
    Abstract: An analyte meter is configured to digitally test for the presence of a test strip in the meter and for the presence of a sample in the test strip prior to activating an analog current measurement circuit of the meter. A test strip port connector having a plurality of contacts receives an inserted test strip in which the contacts electrically connect to electrodes on the test strip for digitally detecting both the presence of a test strip and a sample added to the test strip. A control circuit monitoring the contacts maintains the analyte meter in a low power mode until detecting both the test strip and the sample, whereupon the control circuit activates the meter and enables an analog analyte measurement circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: LifeScan Scotland Limited
    Inventors: David Elder, Stanley Young, Ciaran Carney, Brian Guthrie, Steven Milne, John Young
  • Patent number: 9261478
    Abstract: Described are methods and systems to apply a plurality of test voltages to the test strip and measure a current transient output resulting from an electrochemical reaction in a test chamber of the test strip so that a glucose concentration can be determined that is simpler, less error prone and provides the unexpected advantage of being insensitive to hematocrits in the blood sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Cilag GmbH International
    Inventor: Stephen Patrick Blythe
  • Patent number: 9254485
    Abstract: An integrated semiconductor device for manipulating and processing bio-entity samples is disclosed. The device includes a microfluidic channel formed between a first substrate and a second substrate and a microfluidic grid formed over the first substrate and coupled to the microfluidic channel to manipulate a droplet within the microfluidic channel. The device further includes a magnetic field generation device included in the microfluidic grid and fluidic control circuitry coupled to the magnetic device to facilitate control of the magnetic field generation device to manipulate the droplet, when the droplet contains at least one magnetic bead, within the microfluidic channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yi-Hsien Chang, Chu-Ren Cheng
  • Patent number: 9254489
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an in vitro medical diagnostic device that includes a removable calibration fluid cartridge. The device also includes a removable assay cartridge containing a polymer body with channels for fluid movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: EDAN DIAGNOSTICS
    Inventors: Chao Lin, Paul David Swanson, Zhixiang Jason Zhao
  • Patent number: 9255905
    Abstract: Methods, systems and devices that allow independently applied pressures to a BGE reservoir and a sample reservoir for pressure-driven injection that can inject a discrete sample plug into a separation channel that does not require voltage applied to the sample reservoir and can allow for in-channel focusing methods to be used. The methods, systems and devices are particularly suitable for use with a mass spectrometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Inventors: John Scott Mellors, Erin Anne Redman, John Michael Ramsey
  • Patent number: 9255904
    Abstract: A sensor device for sensing at least a proportion of at least one gas component of a gas in a measurement gas space, in particular for detecting oxygen in an exhaust gas of a combustion machine, is proposed. The sensor device includes at least one sensor element. The sensor element includes at least one first electrode and at least one first reference electrode and at least one second reference electrode. The second reference electrode is connected to at least one reference gas channel. The first electrode is connected to the first reference electrode and the second reference electrode by at least one respective solid electrolyte. The sensor element has at least one diffusion element between the first reference electrode and the reference gas channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Peer Kruse, Jens Schneider, Lothar Diehl, Gerhard Schneider, Christoph Peters
  • Patent number: 9254487
    Abstract: An integrated semiconductor device for manipulating and processing bio-entity samples is disclosed. The device includes a microfluidic channel that is coupled to fluidic control circuitry, a photosensor array coupled to sensor control circuitry, an optical component aligned with the photosensor array to manipulate a light signal before the light signal reaches the photosensor array, and a microfluidic grid coupled to the microfluidic channel and providing for transport of bio-entity sample droplets by electrowetting. The device further includes logic circuitry coupled to the fluidic control circuitry and the sensor control circuitry, with the fluidic control circuitry, the sensor control circuitry, and the logic circuitry being formed on a first substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yi-Hsien Chang, Chun-Ren Cheng, Alex Kalnitsky, Chun-Wen Cheng
  • Patent number: 9250210
    Abstract: A gas sensor that can enhance gas detection sensitivity more than the conventional sensors with a simple configuration is proposed. An electric double layer including a gate insulating layer is formed in an ionic liquid (IL), a change of a state of the gate insulating layer in the ionic liquid (IL) that occurs by absorbing a gas is directly reflected in a source-drain current (Isd) that flows in a carbon nanotube (8). Therefore, the gas detection sensitivity can be enhanced more than in the conventional sensors. Further, since the ionic liquid (IL) can be simply provided on a substrate (2) to be in contact with the carbon nanotube (8) and a gate electrode (7), the configuration that chemically modifies a surface of the carbon nanotube with a plurality of polymers as in the conventional gas sensors is not needed, and the configuration can be simplified correspondingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignees: The University of Tokyo, Omron Corporation
    Inventors: Isao Shimoyama, Kiyoshi Matsumoto, Yusuke Takei, Hidetoshi Takahashi, Noboru Kiga, Masahito Honda
  • Patent number: 9244034
    Abstract: A method of measuring pH of aqueous liquid with little or no buffer present uses an electrochemical pH sensor which comprises a plurality of electrodes with a redox active organic compound attached to an electrode and having at least one functional group convertible electrochemically between reduced and oxidized forms with transfer of at least one proton between the compound and surrounding aqueous phase, wherein the compound has at least one substituent group which promotes hydrogen bonding at a said functional group and thereby increases the reaction rate of proton transfer. The substituent group may form an internal hydrogen bond with a redox-convertible group or may enhance polarity to promote electrostatic interaction with water molecules and reduce activation energy. Such an electrochemical sensor may be used for pH measurement in computer controlled equipment for processing an aqueous liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Nathan S. Lawrence, Andrew Meredith
  • Patent number: 9244036
    Abstract: Described are methods and systems to apply a plurality of test voltages to the test strip and measure a current transient output resulting from an electrochemical reaction in a test chamber of the test strip so that an estimated interferent value can be determined so that such interferent value can be used to correct the current transients at specific time points for more accurate glucose concentration determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Cilag GmbH International
    Inventor: Aurelie Colas
  • Patent number: 9234864
    Abstract: A sensor designed to determine the amount and concentration of analyte in a sample having a volume of less than about 1 ?L. The sensor has a working electrode coated with a non-leachable redox mediator. The redox mediator acts as an electron transfer agent between the analyte and the electrode. In addition, a second electron transfer agent, such as an enzyme, can be added to facilitate the electrooxidation or electroreduction of the analyte. The redox mediator is typically a redox compound bound to a polymer. The preferred redox mediators are air-oxidizable. The amount of analyte can be determined by coulometry. One particular coulometric technique includes the measurement of the current between the working electrode and a counter or reference electrode at two or more times. The charge passed by this current to or from the analyte is correlated with the amount of analyte in the sample. Other electrochemical detection methods, such as amperometric, voltammetric, and potentiometric techniques, can also be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Heller, Benjamin J. Feldman, James L. Say, Mark S. Vreeke
  • Patent number: 9233788
    Abstract: A biosensor system for determining the concentration of an analyte in a sample includes a plurality of test sensors, and includes a container including a desiccant and the plurality of test sensors, sealed in the container. When the container is stored for two weeks at a temperature of 50° C., and each test sensor is subsequently removed from the container, connected through the at least two conductors to a measurement device and then contacted with one of a plurality of samples including an analyte, where the plurality of samples has analyte concentrations that span the range of 50 mg/dL-600 mg/dL, and the analyte concentration in each sample is determined by the test sensor and the measuring device, the bias of each determined analyte concentration may be within ±10 mg/dL or ±10%, and the coefficient of variation of the determined analyte concentrations may be at most 2.5%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Bayer HealthCare LLC
    Inventors: Amy H. Chu, Mary Ellen Warchal-Windham
  • Patent number: 9234865
    Abstract: An analyte test instrument that has a test strip circuitry that can be configured using information provided by a calibration strip to perform assays with test strips having two electrodes and test strips having three electrodes. The analyte test instrument of this invention comprises: (a) a test port for receiving a test strip; (b) a microprocessor for executing instructions downloaded into the analyte test instrument; (c) a test strip circuit capable of having a plurality of configurations, the configurations being set by the microprocessor, whereby an assay can be performed using the test strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Wang, Shridhara Alva Karinka, Gurdial Sanghera
  • Patent number: 9234875
    Abstract: Methods and devices for purification of different cell components from the same sample are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignees: BIO-RAD LABORATORIES, INC., TECHNION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION LTD.
    Inventors: Aran Paulus, Camille Diges, Roumen Bogoev, Sricharan Bandhakavi, Annett Hanh-Windgassen, Anton Posch, Elad Brod, Uri Sivan
  • Patent number: 9228676
    Abstract: An electroosmotic movable device is provided, which includes a liquid chamber that houses a liquid, a conductive movable structure that is placed in the liquid chamber and has a rotating shaft or a supporting point and further has a conductive portion, and an electrode for applying an electric field to the conductive movable structure. The conductive movable structure is enabled to move by an electroosmotic flow which occurs in an electric double layer portion formed by being paired with an electric charge induced in the conductive movable structure owing to the electric field which is applied from the electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideyuki Sugioka
  • Patent number: 9228972
    Abstract: A diamond electrode and a diamond microelectrode array for biosensors and electroanalytical applications, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are disclosed. The electrode comprises a layer of ultra-smooth conductive nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) having a resistivity of >0.05 ?cm and a surface roughness of <20 nm Ra. Preferably, the diamond layer comprises boron or nitrogen-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) having an average grain size <10 nm and a surface roughness <10 nm Ra. It may be patterned to define a microelectrode array with a plurality of individually addressable electrodes, each having a diameter in the range from 100 nm to 100 ?m. The surface of each microelectrode is hydrogen-terminated before bio-functionalization, i.e. modifying with sensing molecules for detection of a specific biological or chemical target and coating with a blocker for reducing non-specific binding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Prabhu U. Arumugam, Shabnam Siddiqui, John Carlisle
  • Patent number: 9228261
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for constructing tissue from cells or other objects by application of temporally and spatially controlled electric fields. Electric field applicators expose a substrate (32) to the electric field controlled to affect the processing medium (28) to achieve a processing effect on the construction of tissue on the substrate (32). Electrical bias is selected to interact with dipole properties of the medium (28) to control the movement of suspended dielectrophoretic cells or other particles in the medium (28) or at the substrate (32). The motion of suspended particles may be affected to cause suspended particles of different properties to follow different paths in the processing medium (28), which may be used to cause the suspended particles to be sorted. The processing medium (28) and electrical bias may be selected to affect the structure, or orientation, of one or more layers on the substrate (32).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Jozef Brcka
  • Patent number: 9222909
    Abstract: A biosensor according to the present invention includes a first base material having an insulating surface; an adhesive layer located on the insulating surface of the first base material; and an electrode system and wiring sections fixed to the first base material via the adhesive layer. The electrode system includes top electrode layers and bottom electrode layers, and the bottom electrode layers are formed of a material having a higher conductivity than that of the top electrode layers; the electrode system includes a working electrode and a counter electrode, and also includes an enzyme reaction section located on the working electrode, the enzyme reaction section containing an enzyme and an electron acceptor; and the bottom electrode layers and the wiring sections are integral with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: DAI NIPPON PRINTING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masanao Watanabe, Kenichi Ito, Makoto Ishii, Hiroshi Yoshida, Toshiaki Baba
  • Patent number: 9216421
    Abstract: There is disclosed a device for determination of a sample from a dielectric fluid medium for a bio-specific assay device, comprising: a sampling device and a biosensor, wherein the sampling device concentrates a sample from dielectric medium by electrically focusing the sample on to a capture element and wherein said biosensor is fluidically linked to said capture element thus providing sampling and determination in a unitary device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: Inspirotec LLC
    Inventor: Julian Gordon