Patents Examined by Jill Warden
  • Patent number: 10921340
    Abstract: A detection chip comprises a flow path and a liquid injection unit connected to one end of the flow path, and by means of a pipette chip inserted into the liquid injection unit of the detection chip, the liquid in the liquid injection unit is aspirated to remove the liquid in the flow path. Subsequently, the pipette chip is made to carry out a reciprocating motion two or more times along the axial direction of the pipette chip, and at least one of those times, the fluid in the liquid injection unit is aspirated by the pipette chip. Subsequently, a liquid is injected from the pipette chip into the liquid injection unit, and the liquid is introduced into the flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventors: Youichi Aoki, Atsuo Iwashita
  • Patent number: 10906020
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices for generating radionuclides for use in production of radiopharmaceuticals; synthesizing the radionuclides generated and removing any unwanted products; measuring the quantity and activity level of the synthesized radionuclides; distributively delivering the radionuclides in appropriate quantities to modular cassette synthesis units in a modular cassette subsystem for contemporaneous/parallel production of radiopharmaceutical output and that allow reuse and/or quick, safe, and disposable replacement of portions of the subsystem; delivering non-radionuclide components to the modular cassette synthesis units as part of production of radiopharmaceutical output; measuring the quantity and activity level of each stream of radiopharmaceutical output; purifying the radiopharmaceutical output; dispensing individual doses in sterile vial(s); automatically producing labeling and dose related information; performing automated quality control on extracted samples of produced radiopharmaceuti
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: CARDINAL HEALTH 414, LLC
    Inventors: Dennis Eshima, Mehmet Husnu, James Stone, Derrick Alcaide, Joseph E. Zambanini, Thomas A. Klausing, Chad E. Bouton, Henry Padgett, Brian C. Kelley, Scott N. Danhof, David A. Holley, Jeffrey T. Stroup, James B. Gleeson, Eric Hassenpflug, James A. Prescott, Herman Benecke, Daniel B. Garbark
  • Patent number: 10906035
    Abstract: A sample processing tubule is provided including, from a proximate to a distal end, an opening through which a sample is introducible, at least three segments, and an extraction port operatively connected to a distal segment of the at least three segments. The extraction port enables extraction of a reaction mixture in the distal segment of the tubule without piercing the tubule or one or more seals separating each of the segments in the tubule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas Drechsler
  • Patent number: 10894270
    Abstract: A liquid jet discharge device includes: a narrow tube having a tube shaped body that is open at both ends, and in which a discharge liquid being disposed therein, the discharge liquid contacting at least at an inner face of the narrow tube at a contact angle of less than 90 degrees; a container in which a transmission medium being disposed at a base side thereof where one end of the narrow tube is disposed, so as to enable pressure to be transmitted to the discharge liquid; an adjustment mechanism that causes a liquid surface of the discharge liquid inside the narrow tube and an interface of the transmission medium outside the narrow tube and inside the container to be staggered in position along an axial direction of the narrow tube; and a generation mechanism that generates a pressure wave in the transmission medium such that a liquid jet is discharged from the discharge liquid inside the narrow tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Tagawa, Hajime Onuki
  • Patent number: 10888261
    Abstract: A specimen transfer device adapted to receive a blood sample is disclosed. The specimen transfer device includes a housing and an actuation member. A deformable material is disposed within the housing and is deformable from an initial position in which the material is adapted to hold the sample to a deformed position in which at least a portion of the sample is released from the material. A viscoelastic member is disposed within the housing between the material and the housing and between the material and the actuation member. The viscoelastic member is engaged with the actuation member and the material such that movement of the actuation member from a first position to a second position deforms the material from the initial position to the deformed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Becton, Dickinson and Company
    Inventors: Milan Ivosevic, Bradley M. Wilkinson, C. Mark Newby, Kishore K. Bokka Srinivasa Rao
  • Patent number: 10888260
    Abstract: A biological fluid collection device that allows a blood sample to be collected anaerobically is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Becton, Dickinson and Company
    Inventors: Adam Edelhauser, Anthony V. Torris, Robert G. Ellis, Bradley M. Wilkinson, Joseph Nathan Pratt, Bartosz Marek Korec
  • Patent number: 10884008
    Abstract: Provided are: a device for storing biochemical reagents wherein an amount of a reagent can be hermetically stored and dropped from a storage site without coming into contact with the outside air; and a biochemical analyzer using the device. The device (10) is constituted by: sticking a top sheet (32) to a base sheet (31) provided with a convex-shaped hollow pocket (16) in which a reagent can be housed; a reagent container as a PTP packaging sheet (30) wherein an opening of the pocket in the base sheet (31), in which a reagent is preliminarily housed, is hermetically sealed with the top sheet (32); and sticking the film sheet surface as the top sheet (32) of the PTP packaging sheet (30), in which the reagent is hermetically packaged, to a cartridge surface of a device body (20) to thereby hermetically seal the inside of the device body too.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Taro Nakazawa, Motohiro Yamazaki, Tatsuya Yamashita, Yoshitaka Kodama
  • Patent number: 10876952
    Abstract: There is provided a droplet sorting device including a detector configured to detect a state of droplets ejected from an orifice that generates a fluid stream and of satellite droplets existing between the droplets, and a controller configured to control a frequency of a driving voltage supplied to a vibration element that applies vibration to the orifice on the basis of positions where the satellite droplets exist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Fumitaka Otsuka, Masahiro Saito
  • Patent number: 10876936
    Abstract: A thermal system for controllably altering a temperature within a reaction chamber in a sample processing assembly is described. The reaction chamber is bounded by a substrate and cover member in the sample processing assembly. The thermal system includes at least one thermal generator for generating temperature changes, one or more transfer layers for transferring temperature changes between the thermal generator and the sample on the substrate and a fluid isolator for isolating the thermal generator from fluid dispensed into the reaction chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: LEICA BIOSYSTEMS MELBOURNE PTY LTD
    Inventors: Peter Toogood, Kenneth Heng-Chong Ng, Anthony Favaloro, Stephen John Bagnato, Gregory William Boyes
  • Patent number: 10875018
    Abstract: A fluid testing cassette may comprise a microfluidic channel having a constriction and a micro-fabricated integrated sensor within the constriction. In one implementation, the constriction is less than or equal to 30 ?m. In one implementation, the cassette further comprises a nozzle connecting the microfluidic channel to the discharge reservoir, wherein a thermal resistor expels fluid within the microfluidic channel into the discharge reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Manish Giri, Chantelle E. Domingue, Robert J. Moline
  • Patent number: 10870109
    Abstract: A cup used to receive, hold, measure and pour liquids, such a specimens, such as for a medical assay, is described. The cup comprises an open receiving upper chamber, two or more open sample-directing channels, and an open, calibrated and marked measuring column. When sitting on a level surface, fluid flows freely from the upper chamber through the sample-directing channels into the measuring column. A foot is under each fluid-directing channel. The base of the measuring column functions as an additional, such as a third, foot. Cups nest, with the two feet of the upper cup sitting into two sample-directing columns of lower cup. The measuring column and upper chamber taper to permit nesting. If the cup is tipped, it rests on two of three of: the two feet and the base of the measuring column, and a point on a lower perimeter of the upper chamber, such that fluid will not spill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Sandstone Diagnostics, Inc.
    Inventors: Ulrich Schaff, Jon Epperson, Laura Fredriksen, Kirk Harmon
  • Patent number: 10871427
    Abstract: A biological liquid collection vessel is adapted to contain a biological liquid to be centrifuged. The collection vessel has a vessel body having an open upper end and a closed lower end, a continuous wall, a target area at the upper end, and a solids area at the lower end that is connected to the target area. The target area is extended in length. In some embodiments, a volume capacity of both of the target area and the solids area are configured so that a red blood cell portion of the centrifuged biological liquid (e.g., blood) is substantially contained in the solids area, and the serum or plasma portion of the centrifuged biological liquid is substantially contained in the target area. Methods of and systems using the liquid collection vessels are provided, as are other aspects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.
    Inventors: Alex Hsu, Scott Salmon, Radu Saftoiu
  • Patent number: 10871437
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing particles in free-flying liquid drops includes a fluid chamber fluidically coupled to a nozzle, a sound source configured to generate, in the fluid chamber, an acoustic field by which particles in a liquid in the fluid chamber may be aligned in an arrangement, and a drop-on-demand mechanism configured to, at a selected point in time, selectively dispense from the nozzle an individual liquid drop containing one or several particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: cytena GmbH
    Inventors: Jonas Schoendube, Ivo Leibacher
  • Patent number: 10864518
    Abstract: A device for collecting, transferring, and storing samples of a biological and/or chemical material, wherein the device comprises: a support body, developing along a main longitudinal direction between a first end and a second end opposite to each other and connected by an intermediate portion elongate in the main longitudinal direction, a collection portion engaging the first end and configured to collect a quantity of a sample of a biological and/or chemical material, the collection portion being defined at least by a first coating layer realized on the first end and made from an elastically deformable material and by a second coating layer consisting of a layer of flocked fibers, the second coating layer being realized through a fiber flocking process on the first coating layer and being configured to absorb a quantity of liquid including at least one sample of a biological and/or chemical material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Copan Italia S.p.A.
    Inventor: Giorgio Martello
  • Patent number: 10864515
    Abstract: The automated pipette manipulation system of the present invention allows for the automated manipulation of any pipette commercially available to aspire and dispense liquids in a chemical or biochemical laboratory setting. Measuring the amount of liquid aspired or dispensed by a pipette is conducted by a load sensor that records the starting point of the displacement of a pushbutton of said pipette and a motor that drives the displacement of said pushbutton a predetermined distance past the starting point that corresponds to a predetermined volume of liquid aspired or dispensed by said pipette. The automated pipette manipulation system of the present invention further detects whether a pipette tip is attached to said pipette and then automatically ejects said pipette tip at the end of a liquid handling process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Inventor: Walid Habbal
  • Patent number: 10863736
    Abstract: An aliquoting and freezing storage device comprises a test tube and at least one capillary tube. The capillary tube is inserted into a test tube, and the capillary tube is provided with an inner long hole which penetrates throughly. The device utilizes the capillarity to quickly and easily store biological samples in the capillary tubes. When needed, the operator only needs to remove one or several of the tubes, without affecting the remaining biological samples, so as to avoid repeated freezing and thawing of biological samples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Inventor: Xiaomin Cai
  • Patent number: 10866237
    Abstract: Disclosed is an ultrahigh-sensitivity two-dimensional chromatography-based biosensor, wherein cross-flow of high driving force across a narrow membrane is applied, thereby enabling the elimination of background noise, efficient supply of a large-sized polymeric or high-molecular-weight signal tracer, sequential material supply for increased reactivity, and simultaneous washing and signal generation when additional signal generation is required, as in an enzyme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Korea University Research and Business Foundation
    Inventor: Se-Hwan Paek
  • Patent number: 10859591
    Abstract: A blood analyzing method for detecting a short sample of blood in a suction tube, when blood is sucked by the suction tube constituting a blood analyzing apparatus, includes measuring a first blood parameter by using blood that is present in a first area of a blood analysis area, blood in the blood analysis area being used to analyze the blood in the suction tube, measuring a second blood parameter by using blood that is present in a second area of the blood analysis area, the second area being different from the first area, and detecting the short sample of blood based on the first blood parameter and the second blood parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: NIHON KOHDEN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koji Masuda, Hyuga Masu, Satoshi Suzuki, Rikiya Tanabe
  • Patent number: 10850279
    Abstract: A bottom opening pod utilizing magnetic coupling for securing one or more cassettes within. The pod includes magnetic couplers that provide magnetic coupling between the cassette(s) and the bottom door of the pod. The magnetic couplers may include magnetic elements disposed on a base of the cassette and on the bottom door of the pod. The magnetic coupling secures the cassette(s) to the bottom door without imposition of separation forces between the housing and the bottom door of the pod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: ENTEGRIS, INC.
    Inventor: Gregory Bores
  • Patent number: 10836540
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a deforming element-included dispensing tip, a deforming element-included dispensing device, and a deforming element-included dispensing processing method not requiring any cylinder and capable of achieving highly precise position control and enhancing integration of higher density and reducing the burden in the quality control in reaction processing of a biological material for extraction of DNA and the like. A tip-shaped container formed with a non-deforming wall having an opening portion at an upper side and an inlet unit at a lower side for allowing fluid to flow in and flow out and a sealing plug attached to the opening portion so as to seal the opening portion are provided, and the sealing plug is configured to be provided with a deforming element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Inventor: Hideji Tajima