Method and system for locating a bacterial colony on a culture plate

Inventors

Marcelpoil, Raphael Rodolphe • Kleefstra, Martijn • Feijen, Franciscus • Volle, Jean-Marc • Okkema-Van Der Lei, Mariska • Mulder, Gerard • Veeninga, Eelke Johannes

Assignees

BD Kiestra BV

Abstract

An apparatus that configures a culture plate for precisely assigning coordinates to a selected colony by assigning fiducials to the culture plate using simple mechanical techniques. The fiducials correspond to the plate center and the center of a barcode label applied to the side of the culture plate by the apparatus. The apparatus then deploys mechanisms to apply coordinates to colonies identified by the user relative to the fiducials. One such mechanism is a webcam pointed at the culture plate that allows a technician to mark the colonies on a display using a computer mouse or equivalent cursor. Another mechanism deploys a laser pointer directed at the colony wherein the apparatus assigns coordinates to the location of the colony onto which the laser pointer is directed. In a third mechanism, the user views the surface of the culture plate through a viewfinder and manually registers coordinates when the view finder cross hairs are over a target colony. The selected colonies are assigned precise coordinates with reference to the two fiducials. Software is provided such that pixels in the image of the culture plate correspond to the coordinates of the culture dish relative to the fiducials.

Core Innovation

The apparatus mechanically centers a culture dish and applies a barcode label in a repeatable position. A user selects microorganism colonies through a viewfinder, a webcam image, or a pointer device. A processor maps and stores colony coordinates relative to fiducial marks, including the dish center and label, linking the coordinates directly to the plate barcode.

The coordinate reference scheme supports transfer of colony locations to colony-picking tools for downstream colony picking and testing. The configuration emphasizes avoiding computer vision while enabling accurate coordinate transfer. Downstream devices utilize the assigned coordinates and barcode linkage to locate selected colonies accurately without automated image recognition.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims recite five inventive features spanning two claim alternatives directed to culture dish colony marking and coordinate assignment.

The independent claims cover selection and location of colonies via a viewfinder or a displayed image, combined with dish clamping, label dispensing, and coordinate assignment relative to the dish center and applied label.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications