Patents Examined by Jill Warden
  • Patent number: 11231344
    Abstract: This disclosure is directed to a device and a system for picking a target analyte of a suspension. A picker introduces at least one force, such as by a magnetic gradient and/or by a pressure gradient, to extract the target analyte from a sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: RareCyte, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Nordberg, Steve Quarre, Ronald C. Seubert
  • Patent number: 11231346
    Abstract: A lower-side structure forms a specimen chamber in which a specimen base is provided. An upper-side structure forms a nozzle chamber above the specimen chamber. The specimen chamber and the nozzle chamber are separated by a gate valve. In the nozzle chamber, at least a tip opening of a nozzle that ejects a specimen is present. A control device maintains a relationship of gas pressures such that a gas pressure in the specimen chamber is higher than a gas pressure in the nozzle chamber when the lower-side structure and the upper-side structure are in communication with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignees: JEOL Ltd., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science
    Inventors: Satoru Akai, Ayumi Morioka, Nobuo Handa, Akira Kurokawa, Kazuhiro Kumagai
  • Patent number: 11226328
    Abstract: A method of detecting a clot in a measurement chamber of a liquid sample analyzer, the liquid sample analyzer comprising one or more analyte sensors, each one of the one or more analyte sensors being arranged for measuring a physical parameter for a respective analyte in a liquid sample in the measurement chamber, wherein detection is performed after conclusion of a rinsing procedure with a primary solution (Cal2) having a pre-determined primary composition with a primary level of the analyte, the method comprising the steps of: (a) at least partly filling the measurement chamber with a secondary solution (Rinse/Cal1) having a pre-determined secondary composition with a respective secondary level for each of the analytes, wherein the respective secondary level is different from the respective primary level; (b) immediately after filling the measurement chamber with the secondary solution (Rinse/Cal1), obtaining an initial measurement result by each of the one or more analyte sensors; (c) flushing the measurem
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Radiometer Medical ApS
    Inventors: Peter Aage Frischauf, Michael Taagaard, Flemming Aas
  • Patent number: 11221281
    Abstract: Provided is a heat treatment device for slide specimen testing, and the heat treatment device mainly includes a container, a base, a heater, a liquid outlet, a liquid inlet, a controller and a thermocouple. When such device is used together with devices such as a slide cover plate and a slide rack, a large amount of slide specimens can be carried out steps of reagent loading, cleaning, heat treatment, temperature maintaining and drying inside one same device, especially multi-step operations such as an immunohistochemical testing, an original hybrid gene testing, and other protein testing, DNA nucleotide and gene testing on the slide specimen. All testing on the slide specimen is enabled to be performed in one same device from the beginning to the end, guaranteeing that all slide specimens are completely covered by the reagent from the beginning to the end, and all slide specimens are carried out the heat treatment at a uniform temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: XIAMEN TALENT BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: James Guo, Derek Guo
  • Patent number: 11219875
    Abstract: Disclosed is a device for the synthesis of a radiotracer, including a universal confined enclosure designed for the insertion of a specific synthesis cassette of the radiotracer and the removal of same. The synthesis cassette includes a synthesis module designed to receive reagents and a radioisotope for the synthesis of the radiotracer. An inner connector plate includes at least one inlet, designed to be connected to a radioisotope admission and also to the inlet of the cassette, and an outlet, designed to be connected to a syringe to be filled with the radiotracer and also to the outlet of the cassette. Such a synthesis device can be installed in a facility including, in a confined room, as well as such devices normally arranged in a storage area, a synthesis station, a radioisotope admission, at least one window for communication to the outside, and a manipulator robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: PMB
    Inventors: Laurent Tanguy, Jerome Corneille, Bertrand Loubaton, Marc Delmas, Alain Perez Delaume
  • Patent number: 11213823
    Abstract: A method of trapping constituents of interest in a fluid sample flowing through a microfluidic channel by vibrating an interface of the fluid sample and a gas occupying a lateral channel adjacent the microfluidic channel is described. A marker is flowed into the microfluidic channel such that the marker bonds with constituents of interest. The constituents of interest bonded to the marker can help identification of the constituents of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Abraham P. Lee, Neha Garg
  • Patent number: 11213819
    Abstract: A point-of-care medical testing system integrated with a patient monitor is disclosed. The system may include a microfluidic cartridge configured to receive a blood sample and generate a sensory signal dependent on a concentration of a biomarker in the blood sample. A cartridge reading assembly receives the microfluidic cartridge. The cartridge reading assembly includes a processing unit and a memory coupled with the processing unit. The memory stores executable instructions to cause the processing unit to receive the sensory signal, correlate the received sensory signal with the concentration of the biomarker in the blood sample, and produce an output representative of the concentration of the biomarker in the blood sample. The cartridge reading assembly is coupled to the patient monitor and configured to send the output to the patient monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Inventors: Reza Kalantarinejad, Abdolreza Yaghoobzadeh Tari, Mahmoud Reza Merati, Ahmadreza Afraz, Soroor Yousefi Nassab Nobari, Vahid Jabi, Faranak Baniahmad, Mahsa Rastikerdar, Ali Akbar Pasha Zanoosi, Parisa Meyghani, Mohammad Amin Aghazadeh, Sepehr Ramezani
  • Patent number: 11215629
    Abstract: An automated analyzer includes a container installation portion in which a container, such as a reagent container, has a protrusion and an openable and closable lid. A lid opening and closing mechanism opens and closes the lid and includes an arm portion having an arm and a horizontal driving portion which moves the arm in a first horizontal direction. The arm includes a protrusion contacting portion that includes a first surface having an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees when the horizontal surface is set as 0 degrees. The lid opening and closing mechanism portion opens the lid by moving the arm in the first horizontal direction, contacting the lid protrusion on the first surface of the protrusion contacting portion, and then moving the lid protrusion along a shape of the first surface in a vertical direction, until the lid is opened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Kabe, Takenori Okusa
  • Patent number: 11209394
    Abstract: A cartridge for sample handling and sensing includes (i) a sample port; (ii) a first fluid port connected to the sample reservoir in the distal region via a first fluid channel; and (iii) a second fluid port connected to the sample reservoir via a second fluid channel. The cartridge includes (i) a sensor platform comprising a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator and a fluid flow path comprising a sensing region extending across a sensing surface of the BAW resonator; and (ii) a fluid valve between the sample reservoir and the sensing region. A sample may be applied to the sample port; first volume of fluid may be injected through the first fluid port; and then a second volume of fluid may be injected through the second fluid port to drive the sample into the sensing region of the fluid flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Qorvo US, Inc.
    Inventors: Thayne L. Edwards, Florian Bell, Matthew Ryder, Bruce Murdock
  • Patent number: 11209452
    Abstract: A sample transfer device includes a sample container holder including at least one jet that ejects air, and the sample container holder holds an upper surface of a sample container in a non-contact state by a negative pressure generated due to horizontally outward flow of the air ejected from the jet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
    Inventor: Yuki Komori
  • Patent number: 11198129
    Abstract: Integrated devices that include a sample preparation component integrated with a detection component are disclosed. The sample preparation component may be a digital microfluidics module or a surface acoustic wave module which modules are used for combing a sample droplet with a reagent droplet and for performing additional sample preparation step leading to a droplet that contains beads/particles/labels that indicate presence or absence of an analyte of interest in the sample. The beads/particles/labels may be detected by moving the droplet to the detection component of the device, which detection component includes an array of wells. Additonal analyte detection devices configured to operate an analyte detection chip to prepare a test sample and to detect an analyte related signal from the prepared test sample in the analyte detection chip are disclosed. The analyte detection chip may include a digital microfluidics (DMF) region and an analyte detection region which may overlap or may be spatially separated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Abbott Laboratories
    Inventors: Jeffrey B. Huff, Mark A. Hayden, Graham Davis, Sergey Gershtein
  • Patent number: 11199560
    Abstract: An automated analyzer that receives samples prepared for analysis in an automated pre-analytical module and a method of operation of such automated analyzer. The automated analyzer includes a shuttle transfer station that receives a shuttle carrier from the automated pre-analytical system. The shuttle transfer station has a clamping assembly for the shuttle. The clamping assembly has jaws that advance engagement members into contact with a bottom portion of sample containers disposed in the shuttle. The clamping assembly secures the sample containers in the shuttle when sample is aspirated from the sample containers. The automated analyzer also has a multichannel puncture tool that is adapted to be carried by a robotic gripper mechanism. The multichannel puncture tool has multiple puncture members that each defines a channel. Each channel is in communication with a different trough in the consumable. A pipette can pass through the channel in the puncture tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Inventors: Michael T. VanSickler, Neil G. Terry, Brian Bell, Steven C. Rotundo, Stephen Robert LaChance, Alyssa Shedlosky
  • Patent number: 11192701
    Abstract: A method is provided comprising loading shells into shell retention chambers of a shell management module, the shells including corresponding reservoirs configured to hold individual quantities of liquid, the shell retention chambers arranged in a predetermined pattern on a platform of the shell management module. The method further comprises orienting discharge ends of the shells along an actuation direction within the shell retention chambers, and covering the discharge ends with closure lids to seal bottoms of the corresponding reservoirs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: ILLUMINA, INC.
    Inventors: Paul Crivelli, Gary Watts
  • Patent number: 11185856
    Abstract: Disclosed here are pipette tips useful for receiving and dispensing liquids, which include a plurality of beveled interior ribs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: BIOTIX, INC.
    Inventors: Arta Motadel, Peter Paul Blasczak
  • Patent number: 11186813
    Abstract: A device for placing disks contained in a cartridge comprises a disk cartridge receiving area, a piston, means for moving the piston between a high position and a low position to enable, in the state in which a disk is positioned in the path followed by the piston during the transition from the high position to the low position of the piston, the disk to be placed on a surface vertically in line with the disk, a transfer system capable of transferring a disk from the cartridge in the cartridge receiving area to a location, arranged in the path to be followed by said piston, the said transit area. The device comprises a disk motion assist guide positionable in the transit area and moveable in a direction parallel to the up and down direction of movement of the piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: INTELLIGENCE ARTIFIICIELLE APPLICATIONS
    Inventors: Christian Curel, Michel Roch, Jean-Louis Cariou
  • Patent number: 11187631
    Abstract: A device for capturing biological particles in suspension in a liquid medium. The device includes a container that is open via a lower opening, and a filter membrane fixed on the container in such a way as to close the lower opening. Inside the container are: a buffer made of a porous foam and having a planar face resting on the filter membrane, an absorbent block resting on the buffer and able to absorb the liquid medium when it is in contact with the liquid medium, and a spring designed to impede the expansion and/or movement of the absorbent block away from the lower opening of the container. Also, methods for capturing biological particles in suspension in a liquid medium using a capture device, and preparation a sample intended for biological analysis. Further an analysis apparatus that has a capture device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: KABCYT
    Inventor: Bastien Karkouche
  • Patent number: 11181542
    Abstract: To suppress inflow of external air through a rack insertion opening while a sample rack is pulled out. An apparatus includes a housing, a temperature control space, and an air temperature control part. The housing has the rack insertion opening on one side surface for putting in and taking out the sample rack. The air temperature control part has an air intake portion for intake of air in the temperature control space, a fan for blowing air taken in from the air intake portion toward the sample rack accommodated in the temperature control space, and a cooling element provided to cool the air on a path of air taken in from the air intake portion. The air temperature control part is configured to reduce an amount of air flowing near the rack insertion opening while the sample rack is pulled out from the temperature control space as compared to while the sample rack is accommodated in the temperature control space, so as to suppress inflow of air through the rack insertion opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
    Inventors: Koki Miyazaki, Shinji Tanaka
  • Patent number: 11179717
    Abstract: A kit for detection of an analyte of interest in a liquid sample, and methods of using, are provided. The kit may include a pipette and a disposable pipette tip configured to engage the pipette. The pipette tip may define an acoustic channel configured for allowing flow-through of a liquid. The kit may also include a vibratory device in communication with the acoustic channel and configured for imparting a vibratory force thereto. The impartation of the vibratory force may create standing acoustic waves, thereby separating any negative acoustic contrast particles (NACPs) from the remaining contents of the liquid sample. The NACPs may capable of biospecific recognition of the analyte of interest, thereby separating the analytes of interest, which can then be collected or analyzed accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Duke University
    Inventor: Gabriel P. Lopez
  • Patent number: 11175300
    Abstract: A biological sample processing apparatus, including: a pipette block with which a plurality of pipettes for sucking or discharging a biological sample in a multi-well plate in which wells are arranged in a matrix shape along row and column directions are detachably coupled; a pipette block forward and backward transfer unit configured to move the pipette block along a forward and backward direction along a process direction; a pipette block top and bottom transfer unit configured to move the pipette block along a vertical direction; a magnetic field applying unit disposed below the multi-well plate for applying a magnetic field to a well of the multi-well plate; and a heating unit disposed below the multi-well plate so as to be spaced apart from the magnetic field applying unit, for heating a well of the multi-well plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: BIONEER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Han Oh Park, Yang Won Lee, Jin Il Lee, Jung Do Kim, Dae Jin Jang, Jong Kab Kim
  • Patent number: 11175299
    Abstract: Described is an automated transport unit for use in a laboratory environment the automated transport unit comprising a drive mechanism for moving the automated transport unit, a control system for controlling operation of the automated transport unit, a power supply for powering the automated transport unit, and a storage compartment configured to hold a material obtained from a fluid storage vessel and/or to be delivered to a fluid storage vessel. Also described is a system comprising an automated transport unit and a fluid storage vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: THE AUTOMATION PARTNERSHIP (CAMBRIDGE LIMITED)
    Inventors: Adrian Stacey, Neil Bargh, Stuart Tindal