Incubator apparatus for use in a system for maintaining and growing biological cells
US5985653A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 24, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 24, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC12M23/54
- WIPO fieldBiotechnology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An incubator apparatus is disclosed, for conditioning a portable cassette such that biological cells contained within a cell growth chamber of the cassette are maintained and grown ex vivo, without exposing the cells to the external environment. The incubator apparatus includes first and second receptacles sized and configured to removably receive first and second casings, respectively, of the portable cassette, and it further includes first and second temperature regulators that regulate the temperatures of the respective first and second receptacles to prescribed values. In addition, the incubator apparatus includes a mechanical interface that is engaged by the portable cassette's first and second casings when they are received in their corresponding receptacles, and this mechanical interface controls the transport of growth media and a gas through the cassette's cell growth chamber, without exposing the cell growth chamber to the external environment. The incubator apparatus also is configured to retrieve data from, and to store data to, an updatable memory device carried on the cassette.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.