Automated collection of a specified number of cells

US12415981B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• Cell Microsystems, Inc · US
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Inventors

• Steven C. Gebhart · Durham, US
• Robert W. McClellan · Apex, US
• Nicholas Trotta · San Francisco, US
• Nancy Allbritton · Irvine, US
• Peter Joseph Attayek · Durham, US
• Paul Michael Armistead · Durham, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 3, 2017
• Grant date: Sep 16, 2025
• Expiry date: Aug 20, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2201/129
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosed subject matter provide an automated method and system to isolate and collect cells using computerized analysis of images of cells and their surroundings obtained from a digital imaging device or system. Embodiments of the disclosed subject matter make use of a “microwell array,” which can comprise a formed, elastomeric grid of indentations or “wells.” Many, most, or all of the wells in a microwell array can contain a releasable, microfabricated element, which can be referred to as a “raft.” Embodiments of the disclosed subject matter provide a system and method for cell collection that includes computerized identification and collection of rafts with isolated single cells or a specific group or groups of cells, eliminating the need for continuous human identification and selection.