KR102410632B1 - Materials automatic injection system for animal experimental - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, specifically, a compensator for fixing an experimental animal to be injected with an arbitrary material; a plurality of infrared cameras attached to the compensator and disposed in an orthogonal direction with respect to the injection region of the experimental animal to generate an image of the injection region of the experimental animal; an edge computing module for calculating information about an injection location and injection point of an experimental animal by using the image; an injector capable of vertically or horizontally moving an injection device to which a sensor is attached and the injection device; a robot arm to which the injector is attached to an end; Receiving information about the injection position and injection point from the edge computing module, moving the injector to the injection point, and a control unit for controlling the injector so that the injection device is inserted into the experimental animal. it's about

Description

Automatic injection system for materials for animal testing {MATERIALS AUTOMATIC INJECTION SYSTEM FOR ANIMAL EXPERIMENTAL}

The present invention relates to an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, specifically, a compensator for fixing an experimental animal to be injected with an arbitrary material; a plurality of infrared cameras attached to the compensator and disposed in an orthogonal direction with respect to the injection region of the experimental animal to generate an image of the injection region of the experimental animal; an edge computing module for calculating information about an injection location and injection point of an experimental animal by using the image; an injector capable of vertically or horizontally moving an injection device to which a sensor is attached and the injection device; a robot arm to which the injector is attached to an end; Receiving information about the injection position and injection point from the edge computing module, moving the injector to the injection point, and a control unit for controlling the injector so that the injection device is inserted into the experimental animal. it's about

Recently, the role and importance of animal experiments have been greatly increased due to the vitalization of research in the life sciences and medical sciences. With the development of the bio-health field, the importance of laboratory animal research resources and infrastructure, which are the core research base, has been highlighted. Various laboratory facilities for animal testing are being developed in hospitals, companies, and the like.

However, when new drugs and biomarkers are developed, the development of automatic dosing devices targeting small animals for clinical trials to test them is insufficient.

Due to the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for animal testing has also surged worldwide due to the increase in the development of new drugs.

Considering that it takes at least 12 months to nurture experts who can participate in research projects, there may be concerns about a shortage of experts in the non-clinical field. Accordingly, the need for automated laboratories that can respond to the continuous surge in demand while replacing professional manpower is increasing.

In addition, in the case of a new drug being developed recently, it is effective with a small dose, so a control system capable of administering the drug in a small amount in the course of a clinical trial is required.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1021989 Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0035054

An object of the present invention is to provide a system for automatically injecting materials for animal experiments that can improve the convenience of the experimenter and the accuracy of the experiment.

In order to achieve the above object, a compensator for fixing the experimental animal to be injected with any material; a plurality of infrared cameras attached to the compensator and disposed in an orthogonal direction with respect to the injection region of the experimental animal to generate an image of the injection region of the experimental animal; an edge computing module for calculating information about an injection location and injection point of an experimental animal by using the image; an injector capable of vertically or horizontally moving an injection device to which a sensor is attached and the injection device; a robot arm to which the injector is attached to an end; An automatic injection system for animal experiments comprising a control unit that receives information about an injection position and an injection point from the edge computing module, moves the injector to the injection point, and controls the injector so that the injection device is inserted into the experimental animal to provide.

The material may be, for example, a drug, a cell, or a tissue, as a material injected by an experimenter into an experimental animal for an animal experiment, but is not limited thereto.

The automatic material injection system for animal experiments may further include, but is not limited to, an image of an injection region of an experimental animal to be injected with the material and a display for displaying corresponding coordinates of the image.

The edge computing module that calculates information about the injection location and injection point of the experimental animal using the image divides the injection area and the non-injection area using a contrast ratio, displays it as a line, and draws a line according to the inclination of the displayed line. It may be combined to generate injection location information of the experimental animal, but is not limited thereto.

The edge computing module includes the steps of: i) adjusting the contrast ratio of the image collected from the infrared camera to distinguish the injection region from the non-injection region; ii) using the contrast between the implanted region and the non-injected region to mark the implantation region as a line; and iii) through the line segment, combining lines according to the inclination of the line to mark the implantation region. and information about the injection point may be calculated, but is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the injection region may be a blood vessel, and the non-injection region may be a tissue around the blood vessel, but is not limited thereto.

The injection device to which the sensor is attached may be a sensor needle, and the sensor may include a positive electrode part and a negative electrode part, and the positive electrode part and the negative electrode part may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the needle to face each other. The injection device may be a syringe, but is not limited thereto.

The sensor of the injection device may measure the impedance of the biological tissue to classify the corresponding biological tissue.

The control unit includes an injector control module, a robot arm control module, an image storage module, and a biological tissue determination module, and the control unit includes: 1) positioning the injection point region and the injection device in parallel through the robot arm control module; 2) through the robot arm control module, tilting the injection device at an inclination of 4 to 9° with respect to the end of the injection device; 3) injecting the end of the injection device into the skin of the experimental animal through the injector control module; 4) tilting the injection device at an inclination of -1 to -3° with respect to the end of the injection device through the robot arm control module; 5) through the injector control module, moving the injection device parallel to the injection region to insert the injection device into the injection region; 6) Through the injector control module, it is possible to control the substance administration in the step of administering the injection substance in a predetermined amount.

The method may further include determining the location of the injection device through the biological tissue determination module in steps 3) and 5).

After the administration of step 6) is completed, through the injector control module, the injection device is moved in the opposite direction to the insertion direction to remove the injection device from the experimental animal. system.

The compensator includes a base on which the experimental animal is placed, a hollow anesthesia sphere positioned above the center of the base, an anesthesia sphere fixing part for fixing the anesthesia sphere to the base, an experimental animal headrest, and a tail capable of fixing the tail of the experimental animal It may further include a mounting portion, but is not limited thereto.

The injector includes a first motor for moving the plunger of the injection device, a second motor for moving the barrel of the injection device, a drive shaft of the first motor, a drive shaft of the second motor, and a plunger coupled to any one of the drive shaft It may further include a support, a barrel support coupled to the other one of the driving shaft, a plurality of rods for coaxially fixing the support, and a fixing portion for fixing the rod to the injector frame.

The robot arm may transport the injector to the injection position and injection point of the experimental animal in a multi-joint manner.

The present invention has the advantage of accurately recognizing the location of the injection area of the experimental animal to be injected with an arbitrary substance, injecting the injection device at the desired position using a robot arm, and accurately controlling the substance to be injected in a small amount. It has the advantage of improving the convenience of the experimenter and the accuracy of the experiment since it is possible to automate even the injection of substances after fixing the experimental animal.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an automatic injection system for animal experiments according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a view showing an exemplary view of the present invention animal test material automatic injection system.
3 is a view showing an anesthesia device, an anesthetic device fixing unit for fixing the anesthesia device to the base, and a headrest of an experimental animal of the present invention automatic injection system for animal experiments.
4 is an enlarged view of the tail mount of the automatic injection system for animal experiments of the present invention.
Figure 5a-d is a view showing the injector of the present invention animal test material automatic injection system.
Figure 6 is a view showing a needle sensor of the present invention animal test material automatic injection system.
7 is a premise flow chart for implementing an automatic material injection system for animal experiments.

Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through examples.

1 is a block diagram of an automatic material injection system for animal experiments of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exemplary view of an automatic material injection system for animal experiments of the present invention.

The automatic material injection system for animal experiments may include a compensator 10 , an infrared camera 20 , a controller 30 , an injector 40 , and a robot arm 50 .

In addition, the automatic material injection system for animal experiments may further include a display 60 for displaying the detected injection area and confirming the injection process.

The compensator 10 is a device capable of fixing an experimental animal to which an arbitrary material is to be injected, and the compensator 10 is a base 11 on which the experimental animal is placed, and a hollow positioned above the center of the base 11 . of the anesthesia device 12, the anesthesia device fixing part 13 for fixing the anesthetic device 12 to the base 11, the experimental animal headrest 14, and the tail mounting part capable of fixing the tail of the experimental animal (15) may be included, and a tail fixing unit 16 capable of fixing the tail of the experimental animal to one side of the compensator 10 may be included.

The infrared camera 20 may be attached to the compensator through the camera fixing unit 21 , and may be disposed on the upper portion in an orthogonal direction with respect to the tail of the experimental animal to generate a blood vessel image of the experimental animal. The infrared camera 20 may photograph the tail of the experimental animal and acquire an original image related to the blood vessels of the tail of the experimental animal. The control unit 30 may include an edge computing module 31 , an injector control module 32 , a robot arm control module 33 , and an image storage module 34 .

The edge computing module 31 may use the image obtained from the infrared camera 20 to calculate information about the location of blood vessels of the experimental animal and the injection point of the injection material.

The injector control module 32 and the robot arm control module 33 of the control unit 30 use the information about the blood vessel location and the administration point generated from the edge computing module 31 to move the robot arm to the administration point. It is possible to control the injector to move and insert the injection device into the experimental animal.

The injector 40 may have an injection device having a sensor attached thereto and the injection device may be moved vertically or horizontally, and the injector 40 may be fixed to the distal end of the robot arm 50 .

The robot arm 50 is manufactured in a multi-joint manner and can move the injector 40 in a set direction and position.

Compensator(10)

The compensator 10 is a device capable of fixing an experimental animal to which an arbitrary material is to be injected, and the compensator 10 is a base 11 on which the experimental animal is placed, and a hollow positioned above the center of the base 11 . of the anesthesia device 12, an anesthetic device fixing part 13 for fixing the anesthetic device 12 to the base 11 15) may be included.

The base 11 is a place where an experimental animal to be injected with an arbitrary material is placed, and an experimental animal fixing part (not shown) coupled with the base 11 to restrain the experimental animal placed on the base 11 . may further include.

The experimental animal fixing unit may include a jacket and a boa system. The jacket serves to surround the body of the experimental animal, and the boa system may restrain the experimental animal to the base 11 . Here, the boa system is a fastening type mainly used for shoes, etc. in which the string is tightened according to the rotation of the fixed dial by using a fixed dial and a string. At least four fastening portions to which the string of the boa system can be coupled may be formed on the base 11 . A detailed description of the jacket and boa system is described in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2038991, which is a previous application of the present inventor, and detailed drawings and descriptions refer to this.

The anesthesia device 12, the anesthesia device fixing part 13 for fixing the anesthesia device 12 to the base 11, and the headrest 14 of the experimental animal will be described with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3A shows the anesthesia tool 12 , and FIG. 3B shows an anesthetic tool fixing part 13 for fixing the anesthetic tool 12 to the base 11 .

The anesthesia sphere 12 may have a hollow cylindrical shape, one end of the anesthesia sphere 12 is located close to the face of the experimental animal, and the other end of the anesthesia sphere 12 is a hose to which anesthetic gas can be supplied. (not shown) may be connected. Therefore, the experimental animal can maintain anesthesia by the anesthetic gas supplied from the anesthetic gas hose.

Referring to FIG. 3A , the anesthesia port 12 may include a plurality of anesthetic gas inlets 12a and 12a', and different types of anesthesia gas are supplied to the anesthesia gas inlets 12a and 12a'. It may be connected to an anesthetic gas hose (not shown). The different anesthetic gases introduced into the plurality of anesthetic gas inlets 12a and 12a' may be mixed with each other in the guide tube 74 and discharged through the anesthetic gas outlet 12c.

3B shows the anesthetic device holding part 13 . The anesthesia device fixing part 13 includes a base coupling part 13a that can be coupled to the base 11 and an anesthetic device coupling part 13b that is vertically fixed to the base coupling part and can fix the anesthetic device. may include

The anesthesia device coupling portion 13b may be configured in a curved hook shape or a hollow cylindrical shape as a portion to which the anesthetic device 12 is fixed, but is not limited thereto.

In this case, the anesthesia device coupling part 13b may include a plurality of coupling grooves 13c capable of being coupled to the anesthesia device 12 on the inner surface, and the coupling groove on the outer surface of the anesthesia device 12 is formed. It may include a corresponding engagement protrusion.

The anesthesia device fixing part 13a may be coupled to the base 11 , and the anesthetic device 12 may be fixed by being inserted into the anesthetic device coupling part 13b. One side of the anesthesia tool fixing part 13a may include a coupling protrusion for coupling with the base 11, and the base 11 has a portion corresponding to the coupling protrusion of the anesthetic tool fixing part 13a. It may include a coupling groove. The position, shape, and size of the coupling protrusion and coupling groove are not particularly determined, and may be variously applied in consideration of coupling strength, manufacturing process, and the like.

FIG. 3C shows an experimental animal headrest 14 capable of holding the head of an anesthetized laboratory animal.

The headrest 14 has a parabolic shape or a scoop shape in which a part of the surface is open. In the case of the scoop shape, it is possible to accurately determine the position of the head of the experimental animal rather than the parabolic shape that completely covers the head of the experimental animal, thereby helping to maintain the anesthesia state of the experimental animal.

3C shows a shape in which the headrest 14 is integrally coupled to the anesthesia port 12', and when a plurality of gas injections are required, the anesthesia port 12' is the anesthetic gas outlet 12c of FIG. 3A. can be coupled to The headrest 14 and the anesthesia device 12' may be formed separately, or may be formed integrally. For coupling with the anesthesia device 12, the anesthesia device 12' may include a plurality of coupling protrusions 14a and 14a', one of which is in the coupling groove of the anesthetic device fixing part 13c. coupled, and the other one may be coupled to a coupling groove formed in the anesthetic gas outlet 12c.

4 shows the tail mount 15 capable of fixing the tail of the experimental animal. The tail holder 15 has a groove for fixing the tail of the experimental animal when the experimental animal is placed on the base 11 . The tail holder 15 fixes the middle part of the tail of the experimental animal, and the base 11 also includes a groove extending from the tail holder 15, and the groove of the base 11 includes the experimental animal. Fix the upper part of the tail.

The lower part of the tail of the experimental animal that is not fixed to the tail holder 15 is vertically drooping downward from one side of the compensator 10 , and the lower part of the tail of the experimental animal is the tail from one side of the compensator 10 . It is fixed by the fixing part (16).

The tail fixing part 16 is formed in a bar shape, and both ends of the tail fixing part are fixed to one side of the compensator 10 by support rods 16a, respectively, and the tail fixing part is provided on the support rod 16a. It may be provided with a spring (16b) that provides an elastic force to (16). The tail fixing part 16 is kept in close contact with the compensator 10 by the support rod 16a and the spring 16b. When the lower part of the tail of the experimental animal is placed between the support rods in a state where the tail fixing part 16 is slightly pulled apart and the hand is released, the lower part of the tail of the experimental animal can be brought into close contact with the compensator 10 with a constant pressure. .

Infrared Camera(20)

The infrared camera 20 may be attached to the compensator and disposed on the upper portion in an orthogonal direction with respect to the tail of the experimental animal to generate an image of blood vessels of the experimental animal. The infrared karema 20 may be arranged to be coupled to the camera fixing unit 21 fixed to one side of the compensator. The camera fixing unit 21 may be provided in various forms, but it should include an opening in the center so that the needle can reach the tail of the experimental animal.

The infrared camera 20 is specifically positioned above the tail mounting unit 15 to photograph the tail of the experimental animal mounted on the tail mounting unit 15 .

The infrared camera 20 emits infrared rays to photograph the tail of the experimental animal, and obtains and provides a series of original infrared images related to the blood vessels of the tail of the experimental animal.

The infrared rays may be emitted through an infrared irradiator 22 separately mounted by an infrared camera, for example, an infrared LED. The infrared irradiator 22 may be mounted to the camera fixing unit 21 , and preferably may be attached to both sides of the infrared camera 20 . The infrared irradiator 22 irradiates infrared rays toward the tail of the experimental animal, and the infrared camera 20 absorbs infrared rays reflected from the tail to identify the blood vessels through the contrast ratio between the blood vessels and tissues.

control (30)

The control unit 30 may include an edge computing module 31 , an injector control module 32 , a robot arm control module 33 , and an image storage module 34 .

The infrared image obtained from the infrared camera 20 may be transmitted to the controller 30 and stored in the image storage module 34 .

The edge computing module 31 may use the infrared image obtained from the infrared camera 20 to calculate information about the location of blood vessels of the experimental animal and the injection point of the injection material.

The edge computing module 31 performs the steps of i) adjusting the contrast ratio of the image collected from the infrared camera to distinguish the tissue from the blood vessel (by sobel), ii) using the contrast between the tissue and the blood vessel through the Hope transform. Blood vessels can be recognized from the tail of an experimental animal through the steps of displaying with lines and iii) through line segments, combining lines according to the inclination of the lines to mark the blood vessels.

In order to recognize the blood vessel of the experimental animal in the infrared image, the edge computing module 31 distinguishes the tissue from the blood vessel through the contrast ratio of the image. In order to distinguish the tissue from the blood vessel, the edge computing module 31 provides contour information, gradient information, intensity information for pixels in the image, and a dark area in the image in the acquired image. Histogram information indicating the distribution of pixels up to a bright area may be obtained. The contour information may be obtained based on an image processing filter, and the image processing filter may correspond to at least one of a GABA filter, a Sobel filter, and a Roberts filter, but is not limited thereto. The edge computing module 31 distinguishes a tissue from a blood vessel through the obtained information.

Next, the edge computing module 31 displays the blood vessel as a line by using the contrast between the tissue and the blood vessel through the Hoppe transformation. That is, after obtaining a set of pixels having large horizontal and vertical edge components by using a Sobel filter, the most dominant vertical line is detected from the set of pixels having large vertical edge components by using Hoop transform.

Next, the edge computing module 31 may display blood vessels by combining lines according to the inclination of the lines through line segments.

When a blood vessel is detected by the above method, the edge computing module 31 may display the center of the blood vessel to calculate the injection point of the injection material.

The edge computing module 31 may further include displaying the blood vessel detected by the method on the display 60, and the image related to the blood vessel location information generated by the edge computing module 31 is It may be stored in the image storage module 34 .

Injectors(40)

5 shows an injector 40 of the present invention. The injector 40 may be equipped with an injection device to which a sensor is attached, the injector 40 may move the mounted injection device vertically or horizontally, and the injector 40 may be a robot arm 50 . can be fixed to the end of

The injector 40 includes a first motor 41a for moving the plunger of the injection device, a second motor 41b for moving the barrel of the injection device, a drive shaft 42a of the first motor, and a second The driving shaft 42b of the motor, the plunger support portion 43 coupled to any one of the drive shafts, the barrel support portion 44 coupled to the other one of the drive shafts, and a plurality of coaxially fixing the support portions 43 and 44 and rods 45a and 45b, and fixing parts 46 and 46' for fixing the rods to the horizontal frame 47. The injector 40 includes a transverse frame 47 for fixing the component.

The motors 41a and 41b, the driving shafts 42a and 42b, the supporting parts 43 and 44 and the plurality of rods 45a and 45b are fixed to the horizontal frame 47 . In addition, the drive shaft and the rod are tilted at a predetermined angle so that the needle of the injection device is inclined downward at a predetermined angle and is fixed to the horizontal frame 47 . The angle may be 15 to 30 degrees, but is preferably 20 degrees.

The driving shafts 42a and 42b and the plurality of rods 45a and 45b are preferably arranged in parallel, and the driving shafts 42a and 42b and the supporting parts 43 and 44 are preferably screwed together.

Accordingly, when the driving shaft 42a rotates in the forward direction through the forward rotation of the first motor 41a, any one of the support parts screwed to the driving shaft 42a may move forward, and the first motor When the driving shaft 42a rotates in the reverse direction through the reverse rotation of 41a, any one of the support parts screwed to the driving shaft 42a may move backward.

In addition, when the driving shaft 42b rotates in the forward direction through the forward rotation of the second motor 41b, the other support part screwed to the driving shaft 42b may move forward, and the second When the driving shaft 42b rotates in the reverse direction through the reverse rotation of the motor 41b, any one of the support parts screwed to the driving shaft 42b may move backward.

The plurality of rods 45a and 45b are disposed parallel to each other, and the plurality of rods are disposed parallel to the driving shafts 42a and 42b, and the plurality of rods include support parts 43 and 44 and a fixing part ( 46, 46') to coaxially arrange the supports 43, 44.

When the driving shaft 42 is rotated by the motor 41 , the support parts 43 and 44 may move forward or backward along the rod.

One or more fixing parts 46 and 46' may be disposed to fix the plurality of rods to the injector frame 47, and the fixing parts 46 and 46' may be formed when the driving shaft is rotated by a motor. It is fixed to the presenter frame 47 without moving.

The injection device may be installed on the support parts 43 and 44 and the fixing parts 46 and 46'. Preferably, the injection device is a syringe. A groove having a predetermined size in which the injection device can be installed is further included on the support parts 43 and 44 and the fixing parts 46 and 46'.

When the injection device is a syringe, the plunger support 43 may include a plunger of the syringe, and the plunger support 43 may include a T-shaped groove in which the plunger of the syringe may be located .

When the injection device is a syringe, a barrel of a syringe, preferably a finger grip, may be located on the barrel support 44 , and a cross (+) )-shaped grooves.

The plunger support part 43 and the barrel support part 44 may move simultaneously according to the rotation of the motor, and only the plunger support part 43 may move while the barrel support part 44 is fixed.

Therefore, assuming that the plunger support part 43 is screwed to the drive shaft 42a of the first motor 41a, the barrel support part 44 is screwed to the drive shaft 42b of the second motor 41b. .

Therefore, the injector control module 32 rotates the first motor and the second motor at the administration position to simultaneously move the injection device forward to inject the needle of the injection device into the tail of the experimental animal at the correct position. When injection is completed at a desired position, the injector control module 32 rotates only the first motor 41a to move the plunger of the injection device forward. In this case, since the second motor does not rotate, the barrel support 44 is fixed, the drug stored in the barrel is pressurized by the forward movement of the plunger, and a predetermined drug can be injected into the experimental animal.

After the drug is injected, the first motor and the second motor are simultaneously rotated in the reverse direction to move the plunger support 43 and the barrel support 44 backward to remove the injection device from the experimental animal.

The injector 40 may further include a third motor 41c for moving the injection device up and down and a driving shaft 42c of the third motor 41c. The injector 40 includes a longitudinal frame 48 for holding the component.

The vertical frame 48 of the injector 40 is vertically coupled to the front end of the horizontal frame 47, and the driving shaft 42c is fixed to the vertical frame 48 through a support portion 49, and the driving shaft ( 42c) and the support portion 49 are preferably screwed together.

The third motor 41c is fixed to the robot arm coupling unit 51 . The robot arm coupling unit 51 is an adapter for coupling the injector 40 to the distal end of the robot arm 50 , and may include a plurality of coupling means.

The robot arm coupling part 51 may further include a mount 52 for fixing the second motor 41c, and the mount 52 includes one or more rods 45c parallel to the drive shaft 42c. can be fixed. The rod 45c may be coupled to the vertical frame 48 or the support portion 49 to guide the vertical movement of the injector 40 .

Preferably, the mount 52 is disposed on the robot arm coupling part 51 perpendicular to the surface where the robot arm coupling part 51 is coupled to the robot arm.

More preferably, the mount 52 may be coupled to the robot arm coupling part 51 through the mount coupling part 53, and the mount coupling part 53 may have a rectangular plate shape and the mount coupling part ( The side of 53 is vertically coupled to the robot arm coupling part 51 , and the mount 53 is vertically coupled to the upper surface of the mount coupling part 53 .

Accordingly, the drive shaft 42c rotates by the rotation of the third motor 41c fixed to the mount 52 of the robot arm coupling unit 51, and the screw-coupled support unit 49 moves up and down while the injector ( 40) It can move itself up and down.

Robot Arm(50)

The robot arm 50 is manufactured in a multi-joint manner, and the injector 40 is coupled to the distal axis of the robot arm 50 and can move the injector 40 in a set direction and position. Specifically, the robot arm 50 is manufactured in a 6-axis multi-joint method, and each joint is provided with a rotation motor connected to a control unit to allow rotation of each joint, and a harmonic driver reducer is operated under the control of the control unit. Each joint can be stretched or bent in a manner that is used, so that the injector 40 can be moved to a set position.

The robot arm 50 may further include a robot arm actuator (not shown), and the robot arm actuator may be connected to the robot arm 50 to provide power for operation of the robot arm 50 .

Needle Sensor(60)

The injection device may include a needle sensor 60 having a sensor attached to the needle surface, one embodiment of the needle sensor 60 is shown in FIG. 6 .

The needle sensor 60 constitutes a body to be inserted into a living tissue, and a needle 61 having a pointed tip in the form of a pin having a circular cross section and a sensing formed spaced apart on the outer circumferential surface of the needle 61 and a part 62, and the sensing part 62 further includes a positive electrode part 62a and a negative electrode part 62b.

The electrode part may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the needle 61 by a photolithography method.

As shown in FIG. 6, the positive electrode part 62a and the negative electrode part 62b of one embodiment are patterned on the outer peripheral surface of the single needle 110, and are formed at a height H separated by about 10 mm from the tip part 63. . The positive electrode portion 121 and the negative electrode portion 62b are formed to face each other and spaced apart, and alternately each protruding pattern is configured to face and repeat, thereby inducing an electrical flow more precisely.

The sensing unit 62 is energized from the inserted biological tissue, and serves to measure the impedance of the biological tissue to classify the biological tissue. Specifically, when the needle is injected into the tail of the experimental animal, the location information is transmitted to the control unit 30 by distinguishing whether the current location of the needle is a tissue or a blood vessel.

This utilizes the difference in the electrical resistance of each living tissue, and since the tissue structure of each living tissue is different, the impedance value is different. For example, 64 to 65.2 [Ωcm] for body fluid, 148 to 176 [Ωcm] for blood, 240 to 675 [Ωcm] for muscle, 1100 to 5000 [Ωcm] for fat, 1800 [Ωcm] for bone Ωcm]. By using the measured impedance to match the loss coefficient-frequency relationship of each living tissue, it is possible to distinguish and determine the corresponding biological tissue.

In order to classify living tissue using the impedance value measured by the sensing unit 62, the control unit 30 may further include a biological tissue determination module.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of administering an injection material to an experimental animal using the automatic injection system for animal testing materials of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of administering an injection material to an experimental animal using the automatic injection system for animal testing materials of the present invention.

Step 100 is a step of fixing the experimental animal, and the anesthetized experimental animal is fixed in the compensator 10 of the automatic material injection system for animal experiments. The experimental animal is an experimental animal with a tail, and the tail is inserted into the tail holder 15 and the lower part of the tail is fixed to the tail fixing unit 16 .

Step 200 is a step of detecting a blood vessel using the infrared camera 20 and calculating an administration point. First, an infrared image of the tail of the experimental animal mounted on the tail mount is acquired using the infrared camera 20 (S210). The edge computing module 31 detects blood vessels and tissues using the contrast ratio of the obtained image through the Sobel filter (S220). After the blood vessel is sensed, a line is displayed between the tissue and the blood vessel through the Hope transformation (S230). The displayed line displays the blood vessel by combining the lines along the inclination through the line segment (S240). When a blood vessel is displayed, the center of the blood vessel is designated as an administration point, and information on the location of the administration point is transmitted to the control unit 30 .

Step 300 is a step of arranging the needle of the injection device parallel to the blood vessel of the experimental animal, and the controller 30 drives the robot arm 50 through the robot arm control module 33 to bring the injector ( 40) is moved.

Step 400 is a step of tilting the needle before injecting the needle. The injector is rotated in the downward direction around the needle tip through the robot arm control module 33 to tilt the needle downward by 11 to 16°.

Since the injection device is disposed in the injector 40 at an inclination of 20°, the needle forms an angle of 20° with the blood vessel, and returns the injector downward by 11 to 16° around the needle tip, so that the needle is a blood vessel and has an angle of 4 to 9°.

In step 500, the injector control module 32 simultaneously drives the first and second motors to inject the needle into the subcutaneous tissue of the tail of the experimental animal, and the needle moves until it reaches the blood vessel. Whether the needle is located under the skin of the experimental animal or in the blood vessel can be distinguished by the impedance value measured from the sensing unit 62 formed on the surface of the needle.

In step 600, before the needle is injected into the blood vessel through the robot arm control module 33, the needle is tilted -1 to -3° in the opposite direction to that in step 400.

In step 700, the needle is moved 1-3 mm parallel to the blood vessel to insert the needle into the blood vessel. This is performed by simultaneously driving the first motor 41a and the second motor 41b of the injector through the injector control module 32 as the entire needle, ie, the entire injector, moves in parallel with the blood vessel. Whether the needle is located under the skin of the experimental animal or in the blood vessel can be distinguished by the impedance value measured from the sensing unit 62 formed on the surface of the needle.

Step 800 is a step of injecting a drug into the blood vessel, and the injector control module 32 rotates a driving shaft motor coupled to the plunger support part among the first and second motors to inject the drug into the vestibule. According to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to inject a drug into a blood vessel, the injector control module 32 rotates only the first motor 41a to move the plunger of the syringe forward.

Step 900 is a step of removing the needle, and is performed by simultaneously driving the first motor 41a and the second motor 41b of the injector through the injector control module 32 in the opposite direction to that in step 700, the step The needle may be removed from the vessel by moving the needle in the opposite direction to 700.

In the present specification, the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments, but various embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. In addition, although not described, it will be said that equivalent means are also combined as it is in the present invention. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

10: compensator 42a: drive shaft of the first motor
11: base 42b: drive shaft of the second motor
12: anesthesia device 43: plunger support
13: anesthesia fixture fixing part 44: barrel support part
14: headrest 45a, 45b: rod
15: tail mount 46: fixed part
16: tail fixing part 47: horizontal frame
20: infrared camera 48: vertical frame
21: camera fixing part 49: support part
22: infrared irradiator 50: robot arm
30: control unit 51: robot arm coupling unit
31: edge computing module 52: mount
32: injector control module 53: mount coupling part
33: robot arm control module 60: display
34: image storage module 61: needle
40: injector 62: sensing unit
41a: first motor 63: front end
41b: second motor

Claims (14)

a compensator for fixing the experimental animal to which an arbitrary substance is to be injected;
a plurality of infrared cameras attached to the compensator and disposed in an orthogonal direction with respect to the injection region of the experimental animal to generate an image of the injection region of the experimental animal;
an edge computing module for calculating information about an injection location and injection point of an experimental animal by using the image;
an injector capable of vertically or horizontally moving an injection device to which a sensor is attached and the injection device;
a robot arm to which the injector is attached to a distal end;
and a control unit receiving information about an injection position and an injection point from the edge computing module, moving the injector to the injection point, and controlling the injector so that the injection device is inserted into the experimental animal.
According to claim 1,
The system is an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, characterized in that it further comprises a display for displaying an image of the injection area of the experimental animal and the corresponding coordinates of the image.
According to claim 1,
The edge computing module divides the injection region and the non-injection region using a contrast ratio, displays them as a line, and combines the lines according to the inclination of the displayed line to generate injection position information of the experimental animal. automatic dosing system.
According to claim 1,
The edge computing module
i) adjusting the contrast ratio of the images collected from the infrared camera to distinguish the injected region from the non-injected region;
ii) displaying a line using the contrast between the implanted region and the non-implanted region through the Hoppe transform; and
iii) through the line segment, combining lines according to the inclination of the line to display the injection area, and calculating information about the injection location and injection point.
According to claim 1,
The injection device to which the sensor is attached is an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, characterized in that it is a sensor needle.
6. The method of claim 5,
The sensor needle includes a positive electrode part and a negative electrode part, and the positive electrode part and the negative electrode part are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the needle to face each other.
According to claim 1,
The sensor is an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, characterized in that for classifying the corresponding biological tissue by measuring the impedance of the living tissue.
According to claim 1,
The control unit is an injector control module, a robot arm control module, an image storage module, and a biological tissue determination module automatic material injection system for animal experiments, characterized in that it comprises a module.
According to claim 1,
the control unit
1) through the robot arm control module, positioning the injection point area and the injection device in parallel;
2) tilting the injection device at an inclination of 4 to 9° with respect to the end of the injection device through the robot arm control module;
3) injecting the end of the injection device into the skin of the experimental animal through the injector control module;
4) through the robot arm control module, tilting the injection device at an inclination of -1 to -3° with respect to the end of the injection device;
5) through the injector control module, moving the injection device parallel to the injection region to insert the injection device into the injection region;
6) Through the injector control module, an automatic material injection system for animal testing, characterized in that the material administration is controlled in the step of administering the injection material in a predetermined amount.
10. The method of claim 9,
The automatic injection system for material for animal experiments, characterized in that it further comprises the step of determining the location of the injection device through the biological tissue determination module in steps 3) and 5).
10. The method of claim 9,
After the administration of step 6) is completed, through the injector control module, the injection device is moved in the opposite direction to the insertion direction to remove the injection device from the experimental animal. injection system.
According to claim 1,
The compensator includes a base on which the experimental animal is placed, a hollow anesthesia sphere positioned above the center of the base, an anesthesia sphere fixing unit for fixing the anesthesia sphere to the base, an experimental animal headrest, and a tail capable of fixing the tail of the experimental animal Animal test material automatic injection system, characterized in that it further comprises a mounting part.
According to claim 1,
The injector includes a first motor for moving the plunger of the injection device, a second motor for moving the barrel of the injection device, a drive shaft of the first motor, a drive shaft of the second motor, and a plunger coupled to any one of the drive shaft Animal test material automatic injection system, characterized in that it further comprises a support, a barrel support coupled to the other of the drive shaft, a plurality of rods for coaxially fixing the support, and a fixing portion for fixing the rod to the injector frame. .
According to claim 1,
The robot arm is an automatic material injection system for animal experiments, characterized in that it is a multi-joint type.

Images