Specimen delivery apparatus
Inventors
Carrano, John C. • Schneider, Roland • Carrano, John J.
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-9475042-B2
Publication Date
2016-10-25
Expiration Date
Abstract
A specimen delivery apparatus includes a housing having a backplane. The backplane includes at least one fluid communication port. The housing has an open state and a closed state. A midplane has a cavity for holding a sample. The midplane is sealed within the housing when the housing is in the closed state. A first actuator is disposed to move fluid within the housing when the housing is in a closed state and the first bulb is actuated. Various embodiments provide for caching of the fluid as well as staging to permit further preparation of the specimen prior to delivery. Various features roil the fluid to assist in extraction, mixing, and transport of the sample with the fluid. A destructible seal prevents fluid communication through the fluid communication port while the seal is intact. Communication of fluid through the fluid communication port is enabled only when the destructible seal is not intact.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a point-of-care in vitro specimen delivery apparatus for processing a biological specimen. The apparatus includes a housing with a first portion and a second portion coupled at a hinge, operable to transition from an open state to a closed state when the second portion is rotated toward the first portion. When closed, an intermediate portion positioned within the housing forms a cavity that receives a sample collector and holds a sample including the biological specimen, with the intermediate portion and the chamber sealed within the housing in the closed state.
The apparatus further includes a fluid transport path fluidly coupled to the cavity and having a roiling feature operable to roil a fluid propelled through the fluid transport path. A first bulb is fluidly coupled to the fluid transport path and is operable to propel fluid within the apparatus through at least a portion of the fluid transport path that includes the roiling feature when the housing is in the closed state and the first bulb is actuated. The roiling is described as occurring across the sample collector when the first bulb is depressed.
In embodiments and related dependent aspects, fluid communication to a subsequent diagnostic stage is blocked by a destructible seal and enabled when the seal is not intact. The disclosed apparatus can include a caching portion of fluid for validation testing, staging and dual action with first-actuation in a staging chamber followed by second-actuation delivery to a next stage, and reagent and solvent delivery upon closure. Additional structural implementations of the roiling feature include helical or spiral grooves, raised thresholds and chamfered edges, and rifled fluid transport tubes, and optional electrical ports with transducers enable thermal, mechanical, acoustical, and/or optical energy to be applied to the sample.
Claims Coverage
The document provides two independent claims covering a hinged, sealed specimen delivery apparatus with a bulb-driven roiling fluid transport path and a method of preparing a biological sample for analysis using that apparatus. Across the claim set, multiple inventive features are added for downstream stage fluid communication, caching, staging and dual action, reagent and solvent delivery, structural implementations of the roiling feature, and optional energy delivery through optical and electrical ports.
Hinged open-to-closed sealed specimen chamber
A housing having a first portion and a second portion coupled at a hinge and operable to transition from an open state to a closed state when the second portion is rotated toward the first portion, wherein an intermediate portion and a chamber for receiving a sample collector and holding a sample including the biological specimen are sealed within the housing in the closed state.
Roiling fluid transport path driven by a first bulb
A fluid transport path fluidly coupled to the cavity and having a roiling feature operable to roil a fluid propelled through the fluid transport path, and a first bulb fluidly coupled to the fluid transport path and operable to propel fluid within the apparatus through at least a portion of the fluid transport path that includes the roiling feature when the housing is in a closed state and the first bulb is actuated.
Roil fluid across the sample collector by depressing the first bulb
A method of preparing a biological sample for analysis comprising receiving a sample collector within a cavity of a specimen delivery apparatus, wherein the cavity comprises a portion of a fluid transport path having a roiling feature, and depressing the first bulb to roil a fluid across the sample collector.
Enclosed chamber cavity sealed between housing portions
In the method, an intermediate portion within the housing sealed between the first portion and a second portion such that the cavity forms a portion of an enclosed chamber when the housing is transitioned to the closed state, the cavity including a portion of a fluid transport path with a roiling feature operable to roil fluid propelled through the fluid transport path.
Overall, the independent claim coverage centers on a hinged housing that seals a cavity holding a biological sample collector, together with a bulb-driven fluid transport path that includes a roiling feature to roil fluid across the sample collector. Dependent claim coverage further supports destructible-seal downstream stage communication, caching of fluid, staging and dual action actuation, reagent and solvent delivery, and optional optical and electrical energy delivery using ports and transducers.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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