Patent Application
20100151564
This invention relates generally to workstations for culturing and monitoring cellular behavior and, more particularly, to a workstation having a laminar flow housing and imaging system that may capture images of a culture in the laminar flow housing without removal of the culture from the laminar flow housing. In one exemplary implementation, the workstation further includes an incubator and work surface adjacent the incubator such that experiments and the like may be performed on a culture without removal of the culture from the workstation and the controlled environment of the laminar flow housing.
Cells, such as stem cells, bacteria, fungi, and other cellular material, are commonly cultured in incubators that provide a temperature and humidity controlled environment in which cells may be grown and the stages of cellular growth monitored. As the cellular material matriculates through its stages of growth, it is often desirable to capture images of the growth process. To this end, bio-stations, such as the BioStationCT commercially available from Nikon Instruments, allows computed tomography (CT) images to be acquired during the cellular growth process while maintaining the cultures in their optimized, and closed environment.
One of the drawbacks of conventional biological workstations, including those having integrated imaging devices, is that the controlled environment of the incubator is exposed when cultures are added or removed from the incubator. This is particularly problematic when dealing with microfluidic devices that are used with human and animal in-vitro fertilization (IVF). That is, one of the challenges in working with embryos or cells in microfluidic devices is the effect of “opening the door” when the devices are moved to and from the incubator for manipulation and analysis. It has been found that the effects of the humidity and temperature changes caused by such movement can have a significant impact on the cells and the developing embryos.
The present invention is directed to a work station well-suited for culturing and monitoring cellular material that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks. In one embodiment, the present invention includes an incubator and a work area generally adjacent the work area; both of which are contained within a laminar flow system that provides a clean and controlled environment for working with the cellular material. In a further embodiment, an imaging system is associated with the laminar flow system that allows images to be acquired of the cellular material without removal of the cellular material from the incubator. In yet another embodiment, the incubator has a turn-table or carousel capable of holding various types of culture devices, such as dishes, tubes, slides, and the like. The carousel may be rotated by a suitable drive motor to selectively place a culture or cellular sample to an imaging position that is in the field of view of the imaging system. In yet a further embodiment, the incubator includes a water bath that provides temperature and evaporation control of the conditions inside the incubator. In one embodiment, the water bath is maintained at a level sufficient to partially submerge the culture devices.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bio-station equipped to provide incubation of cellular material, imaging of the cellular material without removal of the cellular material from the bio-station, and a climate controlled work area that allows researchers and scientists to carry out various tasks associated with the cellular material, such as inspection under a microscope and experiments without removal of the cellular material from the controlled environment provided by a laminar flow system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a laminar flow system having an incubator and a temperature controlled work area generally adjacent the incubator.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an integrated laminar flow system and an imaging system that can capture images of cellular material without removal from the laminar flow system. In accordance with yet a further object of the invention, the laminar flow system includes an incubator that provides a climate controlled environment for cellular growth and the imaging system is capable of capturing images of the cellular material without removal of the cellular material from the incubator.
Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided that includes a laminar flow hood and a table connected to the laminar flow hood. The table includes an opening and an incubator is supported on the table. The incubator includes a housing and a media support disposed in the housing, with a portion of the housing seated above the opening formed in the table. An imaging device is aligned with the opening formed in the table and is configured to acquire images of a media sample supported by the media support without removal of the media from the incubator.
Other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.
The drawings furnished herewith illustrate a preferred construction of the present invention in which the above advantages and features are clearly disclosed as well as others which will be readily understood from the following description of the illustrated embodiment.
In the drawings:
The present invention is directed to a work station particularly well-suited for culturing, monitoring, imaging, and working with human, animal, or plant cellular material, such as stem cells, tissue, bacteria, fungi, and embryos. It is understood however that the invention is not limited to use with biological samples and cultures.
The frame 14 includes a pair of side panels 26, 28 connected to one another by a transversely oriented back panel 30. A computer monitor 32 is mounted to the back panel 30 as is a power strip 34, to which various electronic devices may be connected, such as a notebook computer, microscope, or other equipment.
An imaging system 36, which in one embodiment is a stereoscope, is mounted to the work table 16 and may be used to acquire images of cellular material disposed in the incubator 24. Thus, images may be captured of the cellular material without removal of the cellular material from the incubator 24. The acquired images may be recorded and stored as known in the art or displayed on a viewer 38 that is mounted to side panel 26.
In one embodiment, the incubator 24 and the imaging system 36 are controlled by a computer 40 mounted to legs 20, 21. In this regard, a user, such as a researcher or scientist, may make inputs to the computer 40 using conventional user input tools (not shown) and the computer 40, which executes appropriate software, controls operation of the incubator 24 and the imaging system 36 accordingly. It is recognized that the inputs for controlling operation of the incubator 24 and the imaging system 36 may be made remotely from the work station 10 using conventional remote connectivity and communication hardware and software.
Turning now to
As noted above, the sidewalls 42-48 and the base panel 50 are sealingly coupled to one another, or alternately, integrally formed as a single unit, such that a water bath may be maintained in the incubator 24. The water bath may be heated by a series of heating elements 56, 58, 60. In one embodiment, the heating elements 56, 58 are defined within the top cover 54 whereas heating element 60 is defined within an access door 62 that is connected to the top cover 54 by a hinged connection 64. A heater control 66 is mounted to the top cover 54 and regulates the heat output of the heating elements 60, as known in the art, to provide a desired temperature within the incubator and control against condensation being formed on the underside of the top cover 54.
In addition to access door 62, a generally triangularly shaped access door 68 is coupled to the top cover 54 by a hinged connection 70. Access door 62 may be opened for loading large culture dishes into the incubator, as shown in
The water level of the aforementioned water bath is detected by a buoy or float 72 that is supported on a rod 73 extends through an opening 74 in the top cover 54. In a preferred embodiment, the water level information is used to automatically add water to the incubator from a water supply (not shown) as water evaporates and thus drops the water level. Gas is supplied to the incubator via gas hoses (not shown) passing through openings 76, 78, and 80 formed in the top cover 54.
The cover 54 further includes a generally square shaped housing 81 that provides an enclosure for a light (not shown) that is designed to provide backlighting for images acquired by the imaging system 36.
With additional reference to
As further shown in
Referring now to
The stereoscope 104 is mounted such that the field-of-view (FOV) 112 of the stereoscope falls within an imaging window 114 defined in the base 50 of the incubator 24. As shown in
Referring again to
From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a work station at which cellular growth may be grown, monitored, imaged, and manipulated, e.g., experiments performed thereupon, in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. The partial submersion of the culture devices provides temperature control as well as evaporation control such that a relatively constant condition is maintained in the incubator. In a preferred embodiment, the water bath is sterilized by a UV system having a UV light, as described above.
Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter, which is regarded as the invention.
