KR20190067003A - Target cells isolator and position determining method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a target cell isolator capable of checking a correct relative height between a filter chip and a collection pipet, and a positioning method thereof. According to the present invention, the target cell isolator comprises: a chip assembly including the filter chip separating a target cell from a process solution and a chip driving motor elevating the filter chip; a pipet assembly including the collection pipet collecting the target cell separated from the filter chip and a pipet driving motor elevating the collection pipet; a dish cartridge receiving the remaining process solution from which the target cell is separated; a sensor detecting the collection pipet and the filter chip placed at a preset setting position; an encoder counting the number of rotations of a driving shaft of the chip and pipet driving motors when the collection pipet and the filter chip are placed at the setting position; and a controller calculating a selection height of the collection pipet and the filter chip corresponding to a preset relative height based on information about the number of rotations of the driving shaft counted by the encoder, and adjusting a moving height of the collection pipet and the filter chip in accordance with the calculated selection height when collecting the target cell remaining in the filter chip.

Description

[0001] TARGET CELLS ISOLATOR AND POSITION DETERMINING METHOD THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a method of positioning a target cell isolator and a target cell isolator, and more particularly, to a method of positioning a target cell isolator and a target cell isolator capable of confirming an accurate relative height between a filter chip and a recovery pipette.

For cell-based testing or screening, techniques are needed to isolate live cells from human or animal blood.

For example, techniques for isolating blood circulating tumor cells (CTCs) for cancer diagnosis have been developed. Blood tumor cells (CTC / CTCs) are a primary tumor tissue, a small number of tumor cells that move away from a primary carcinoma and circulate in the blood.

Techniques for detecting blood tumor cells include techniques using a microfluidic device in which a capture antibody is bound to a resin surface such as a magnetic particle or a columnar structure on which an anti-EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) antibody is immobilized, And a technique of using a filter using the difference in size of a blood cell are known.

In the case of using a filter for detecting blood tumor cells in the past, the relative height between the chip for separating the target cell and the tip of the pipette for recovering the separated target cell is checked by a separate measuring method, Since it is not easy to accurately measure the relative height, the recovery rate value may become uneven.

Particularly, if the tip height of the pipette and the height of the filtration chip are measured by different sensing devices, there is a difference in the recognition rate of the sensing device depending on the ambient environment (illumination, brightness, etc.) And accurate height measurement may be difficult.

In addition, when it is difficult to accurately grasp the tip height of the pipette tip and the relative height of the chip, it may take a long time to set up the equipment because the relative height difference between them must be checked visually when setting up the equipment.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0101072 (published on September 15, 2011)

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for locating a target cell isolator and a target cell isolator that can accurately determine the relative height between a filtration chip for separating target cells and a recovery pipette for recovering separated target cells.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. There will be.

A target cell isolator according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a chip assembly including a filter chip for separating target cells from a process solution; and a chip drive motor for moving the filter chip up and down; A recovery pipette for recovering the target cells separated from the filter chip; a pipette assembly for providing a pipette driving motor for moving the recovery pipette up and down; A dish cartridge in which the remaining process solution in which the target cells are separated is accommodated; A sensing sensor for sensing the recovery pipette and the filter chip located at predetermined designing points; An encoder for counting the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor and the pipette driving motor when the recovery pipette and the filtration chip are located at the setting point; And a controller for calculating a selected height of the recovered pipette and the filter chip corresponding to a predetermined relative height from the information about the drive shaft revolution counted by the encoder, And a controller for adjusting a moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip according to the selected height.

At this time, the chip assembly includes a chip base disposed on one side of the dish cartridge; A horizontal guide provided on the chip base for guiding the horizontal movement of the filter chip and a vertical guide for guiding the vertical movement of the filter chip; A driven pulley driven by the driving pulley of the chip driving motor, a driven pulley connected to the driving pulley by a belt, a driven shaft driven by the driven pulley and having an elevating mechanism rotatably coupled to the outer circumferential surface thereof, An elevating unit including a chip bracket, one end of which is drive-connected to the driven shaft via the elevator gear, and the filter chip is mounted on the other end; A chip transfer motor for transferring the elevation unit in the horizontal direction along the horizontal guide; And a base cover covering the chip base to protect the guide unit, the elevation unit, and the chip transfer motor.

The dish cartridge further includes a dish housing; A sensing region provided on the upper portion of the dish housing to provide the setting point, the sensing region being disposed on an inner wall thereof; A dish provided on an upper portion of the dish housing to be spaced apart from the tappet; And a solution tube provided on the top of the dish housing to allow the process solution to be received.

Further, the dish may include a body portion having a bottom surface inclined; And a support portion coupled to an upper portion of the main body portion and having a support piece for supporting the filter chip.

In addition, the filter chip may include a mesh filter having a plurality of filtration holes for separating the target cells.

In addition, the target cell may be a circulating tumor cell (CTC / CTCs).

A method for locating a target cell isolator according to an aspect of the present invention includes the steps of sensing a recovery pipette and a filtration chip located at predefined setting points; Counting the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor and the pipette driving motor that lifts the recovery pipette and the filtration chip when the recovery pipette and the filtration chip are sensed; Calculating a selection height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip corresponding to a predetermined relative height through information on the rotation number of the drive shaft; And adjusting a moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip in accordance with the calculated height of the target cell when the target cell remaining on the filtration chip is recovered.

The step of adjusting the moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip may include calculating the rotation speed of the driving shaft of the pipette driving motor corresponding to the selected height and rotating the driving shaft of the pipette driving motor by the calculated rotation speed of the driving shaft .

The step of adjusting the movement height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip may include calculating the rotation speed of the drive shaft of the chip drive motor corresponding to the selected height and rotating the drive shaft of the chip drive motor by the calculated rotation speed of the drive shaft When the driving shaft of the chip driving motor is rotated, the driving pulley connected to the driving shaft of the chip driving motor rotates the driven shaft of the driven pulley, so that the chip bracket on which the filtering chip is mounted can be moved up and down along the vertical guide.

Embodiments of the present invention are advantageous in that it is not easy to accurately measure the relative height between the filtration chip and the recovery pipette for separating the target cells, so that the recovery rate value can be maintained constant.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention can automate the entire process of separating and recovering target cells from the process solution, thereby increasing the recovery rate of blood tumor cells, securing repeatability and reliability, improving space utilization and productivity It is advantageous.

It should be understood that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above effects and include all effects that can be deduced from the detailed description of the present invention or the configuration of the invention described in the claims.

1 is a perspective view of a target cell isolator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating control logic of a target cell isolator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a chip assembly of a target cell isolator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view cut along the "AA"
5 is a perspective view illustrating a dish cartridge of a target cell isolator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view cut along the line BB of Fig.
FIG. 7A is a state diagram showing a state in which a filter chip is inserted into a tapered portion of the illustrated dish cartridge by cutting the "CC" line portion of FIG. 5; FIG.
Fig. 7B is a state diagram showing a state in which the recovery pipette is inserted into the depression of the illustrated dish cartridge by cutting the "CC"

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" (connected, connected, coupled) with another part, it is not only the case where it is "directly connected" "Is included. Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements, not excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like refer to the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a target cell isolator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating control logic of a target cell isolator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a chip assembly of a target cell isolator according to an example, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view cut along the line AA of Fig.

1 to 4, a target cell isolator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a chip assembly 100, a pipette assembly 200, a dish cartridge 300, a sensing sensor 400, An encoder 500, and a controller 600. [

Specifically, the chip assembly 100 can separate (filter) the target cells from the process solution using the filter chip 110. Here, the process solution can be understood as a solution obtained by mixing a sample solution (a solution in which red blood cells are separated and removed from the blood of a blood supplier) into a plurality of kinds of buffer solution / buffer solution, and the target cell is a blood tumor cell (Circulating Tumor Cell, CTC / CTCs).

The chip assembly 100 includes a filter chip 110, a chip drive motor 120, a chip base 130, a guide unit 140, a lift unit 150, a chip transfer motor 160, . ≪ / RTI >

The filter chip 110 may be a filter for collecting target cells and may include a mesh filter having a plurality of filtration holes. The filtration hole area provided in the mesh filter is smaller than the smallest cross-sectional area of the cross-sectional area of the target cell, so that the target cell can not pass through the filtration hole. However, since the sizes of the target cells may be different, the mesh filter may be manufactured so that the area of the filtration hole is appropriate considering the collection rate of the target cells.

The filter chip 110 is mounted on the chip bracket 155 of the elevation unit 150 and can be moved by the operation of the chip driving motor 120 and the chip feeding motor 160 according to the operation signal of the controller 600 have. For example, the filter chip 110 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction (z direction in the drawing) of the isolator by the elevation unit 150 and moved in the horizontal direction (x direction in the figure) of the isolator by the chip feed motor 160 Can be moved.

The chip driving motor 120 is a driving motor for moving the filter chip 110 up and down in the vertical direction of the target cell isolator 10, 110). At this time, the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor 120 can be counted by the encoder 500.

The chip base 130 may be provided in the form of a support plate installed on one side of the dish cartridge 300. A chip driving motor 120, a guide unit 140, an elevation unit 150 and a chip transfer motor 160 may be mounted on the chip base 130. [ The chip base 130 may be wrapped by the base cover 170 to protect the chip drive motor 120, the guide unit 140, the lift unit 150 and the chip feed motor 160. [

The guide unit 140 includes a horizontal guide 141 provided in a rail shape on the chip base 130 to guide the filter chip 110 in a horizontal direction (x direction in the figure) And a vertical guide 142 provided in a rail shape on the chip base 130 to guide the chip base 130 (in the z direction in the drawing). In this embodiment, the horizontal guide 141 is described as a rail guiding the filter chip 110 in the x direction of the figure, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The horizontal guide 141 may include a filter chip 110 It may be constituted by a rail guiding in the y direction of the drawing.

The lifting and lowering unit 150 includes a driving pulley 151 drivingly connected to the driving shaft 156 of the chip driving motor 120, a driven pulley 152 connected to the driving pulley 151 by a belt 157, A driven shaft 153 drivingly connected to the driving shaft 152 and having an elevation gear 154 rotatably coupled to the outer circumferential surface thereof and a chip bracket 155 drivingly connected to the driven shaft 153. At this time, one end of the chip bracket 155 may be driven to be driven to the driven shaft 153 via the elevator gear 154 so as to be moved up and down along the vertical guide 142, and the other end of the chip bracket 155 may be connected to the filter chip 110 may be mounted.

When the drive shaft 156 of the chip drive motor 120 is rotated by the operation of the chip drive motor 120, the drive pulley 151 driven by the drive shaft 156 of the chip drive motor 120 is rotated The driven pulley 152 connected to the drive pulley 151 by the belt 157 can be rotated. When the driven shaft 153 of the driven pulley 152 is rotated by the rotation of the driven pulley 152, the elevator gear 154 coupled to the driven shaft 153 is screwed to the filter chip 110 The chip bracket 155 can be moved up and down along the vertical guide 142.

The chip conveying motor 160 can provide the elevating unit 150 with a driving force for horizontally conveying the elevating unit 150. [ When the chip transfer motor 160 is operated, the elevation unit 150 is moved along the horizontal guide 141 of the guide unit 140. Therefore, the chip 110 mounted on the chip bracket 155 of the elevation unit 150 Can be moved in the horizontal direction (for example, the x direction in the figure).

The pipette assembly 200 includes a recovery pipette 210 for recovering target cells separated from the filter chip 110, a pipette driving motor 220 for moving the recovery pipette 210 up and down (in the z direction in the figure) (Not shown) for moving the nozzle 210 in the horizontal direction (x direction or y direction in the drawing).

The pipette assembly 200 can receive the operation signal from the controller 600 and transfer the recovery pipette 210. For example, when an operation signal of the controller 600 is applied to the pipette driving motor 220 and the pipette transfer motor, the pipette driving motor 220 can lift the recovery pipette 210 in the z direction of the drawing, The feed motor can move the recovery pipette 210 in the x direction or the y direction in the drawing.

At this time, the recovery pipette 210 can transfer the process solution in the solution tube 340 to the dish 330 and recover the target cells separated from the filtration chip 110. The recovery pipette 210 recovering the target cells may contain target cells in a separate collection tube (not shown).

The recovered pipette 210 used for the injection and the discharge of the process solution or the recovery of the target cell is not reused and can be replaced with another recovered pipette 210 '. The number of collection through the recovery pipette 210 may vary depending on the type of the target cell, and the target cells collected in one filter chip 110 may be collected a plurality of times by the recovery pipette 210.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a dish cartridge of a target cell isolator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view cut along the line BB of FIG. 5, FIG. 7B is a sectional view of the dish cartridge in which the withdrawal pipette is inserted into the depressed portion of the dish cartridge shown in FIG. 5 by cutting the "CC" Fig.

5 to 7B, the dish cartridge 300 may provide a setting point at which settings for the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 are made. In addition, the dish cartridge 300 can provide a working space for separating and recovering target cells from the process solution, and the target cells can receive the remaining process solution separated.

The setting point is a position for setting the reference of the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110. In this embodiment, the sensing region 320 of the dish cartridge 300 is connected to the recovery pipette 210, And the setting of the height of the filtering chip 110 can be used as a setting point.

The dish cartridge 300 includes a dish housing 310, a tongue 320 provided at an upper portion of the dish housing 310 to provide a setting point, a tongue 320 provided at an upper portion of the dish housing 310, And a solution tube 340 provided at an upper portion of the dish housing 310 to allow the process solution to be received therein.

At this time, the dish 330 includes a body portion 331 having an inclined bottom surface and a support portion 333 for supporting the filter chip 110. The support portion 332 is coupled to an upper portion of the body portion 331, ≪ / RTI > A sensing sensor 400 for measuring the position of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 may be disposed on the inner wall of the sensing region 320.

In addition, the solution tube 340 may be formed of a plurality of different solution containing process solutions, and may be arranged in a matrix form on the upper part of the dish housing 310. In this embodiment, the solution solution 340 contains a process solution, but in addition to the process solution, a sample solution, a plurality of kinds of buffer solution / buffer solution, and the like can be selectively accommodated.

The sensing sensor 400 may sense the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 located at the pre-set setting points. Information about the position of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 sensed by the sensing sensor 400 may be applied to the controller 600. [

The sensing sensor 400 may comprise a recovery pipette 210 inserted into the sensing region 320 of the dish cartridge 300 and a laser sensor sensing the filtration chip 110. However, it is not limited thereto, and various types of sensor devices for sensing the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 may be used. However, for accurate and effective sensing of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110, the sensing sensor 400 must be composed of one sensor device.

The encoder 500 may count the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor 120 and the pipette driving motor 220 when the recovery pipette 210 and the filtering chip 110 are positioned at the set point. At this time, information on the measured rotation speeds of the chip driving motor 120 and the pipette driving motor 220 may be provided to the controller.

The encoder 500 may be a rotary encoder capable of measuring the rotation speed of the drive shaft. Of course, in addition to the rotary encoder, various types of encoders that can accurately measure the rotation speed of the drive shaft of the chip drive motor 120 and the pipette drive motor 220 may be used.

The controller 600 can control the configuration of the target cell isolator 10 as a whole. For example, the controller 600 controls the chip driving motor 120, the chip feeding motor 160, the pipette driving motor 220, the pipette feeding motor, the encoder 500, and the sensing sensor 400 via wired / And can receive information from these configurations, or can apply operating signals to these configurations.

In particular, when the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 are positioned at a set point, the controller 600 can receive information on the number of revolutions of the drive shaft counted by the encoder 500, The selection height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 corresponding to the predetermined relative height can be calculated.

The predetermined relative height of the recovery pipette 210 may be such that when the recovery pipette 210 collects the target cells remaining on the filter chip 110, the recovery of the target cells can be accurately performed through the recovery pipette 210 And the relative height difference between the tip and the mesh filter of the filter chip 110.

For example, when the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 are positioned at the set point, the encoder 500 counts the number of revolutions of the drive shaft of the chip drive motor 120 and the chip drive motor 120, Can accurately determine the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 on the basis of the setting point. Upon recovery of the target cells remaining on the filtration chip 110 based on the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110, The selected height of the filter chip 210 and the filtration chip 110 can be calculated.

When the selection height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 is calculated, the controller 600 controls the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 to collect the target cells remaining on the filtration chip 110, The moving height of the moving body 110 can be adjusted.

For example, when the controller 600 applies an operation signal to the chip driving motor 120 and the chip driving motor 120 in accordance with the selected height, the chip driving motor 120 and the chip driving motor 120 120 can raise and lower the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 so that the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 match the predetermined relative height.

As described above, when the moving height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 is controlled by the controller 600, a large number of rare target cells, such as blood tumor cells, .

Hereinafter, the principle of separation (recovery) of target cells will be described.

The process solution may contain target cells and various materials. Accordingly, when the process solution is introduced into the filter chip 110, filtration can be performed on the process solution (a buffer solution or a mixture of buffer solution and residue) for a predetermined time in the filter chip 110.

If only a target cell does not pass through the filter chip 110 after a predetermined time, only the target cell may be collected in the filter chip 110. The target cells collected in the filtration chip 110 can be recovered by the recovery pipette 210. At this time, the remaining process solution (a mixture of the residue and the buffer solution) that has passed through the filter chips 110 may be contained in the dish 330. By gravity, the remaining process solution can be gathered to the bottom side of the inclined dish 330.

Of course, some of the buffer solution may remain in the filter chip 110 in addition to the target cell. This may be because the force due to the pressure inside the remaining process solution counterbalances the weight of the buffer solution contained in the filter chip 110 with respect to the area where the buffer solution contained in the filter chip 110 and the residual process solution meet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of positioning a target cell isolator, comprising the steps of sensing a recovery picket and a filtration chip, counting a rotation number of a driving shaft of a chip driving motor and a pipette driving motor, Calculating a selected height of the chip, and adjusting a moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip.

First, the sensing of the recovered picket and the filtration chip senses the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 located at the predetermined set point through the sensing sensor 400. At this time, the setting point may be the sensing region 320 of the dish cartridge 300 where the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 is set.

The step of counting the number of revolutions of the drive shaft of the chip driving motor and the pipette driving motor may include counting the number of rotations of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 when the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 are sensed at a set point, The number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor 120 and the pipette driving motor 220 is counted. The number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor 120 and the pipette driving motor 220 counted is the number of revolutions of the driving shaft corresponding to the height of the recovery pipette 210 and the filtration chip 110 located at the set point.

The step of adjusting the movement height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip may be performed by using the rotation number of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor 120 and the pipette driving motor 220 counted at the setting point, 210 and the filtration chip 110 are calculated.

At this time, the rotation speed of the driving shaft of the pipette driving motor 220 corresponding to the selected height may be calculated, and the driving shaft of the pipette driving motor 220 may be rotated by the calculated rotation speed of the driving shaft. Further, the drive shaft rotation speed of the chip drive motor 120 corresponding to the selected height can be calculated, and the drive shaft 156 of the chip drive motor 120 can be rotated by the calculated drive shaft rotation speed.

Particularly, when the driving shaft 156 of the chip driving motor 120 is rotated by the operation of the chip driving motor 120, the driving pulley 151 connected to the driving shaft 156 of the chip driving motor 120 is rotated The driven pulley 152 connected to the drive pulley 151 by the belt 157 can be rotated and when the driven shaft 153 of the driven pulley 152 is rotated by the rotation of the driven pulley 152, The chip bracket 155 on which the filter chip 110 is mounted can be moved up and down along the vertical guide 142 while being lifted and lowered.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention.

100: chip assembly
110: Filter chip
120: chip drive motor
130: chip base
140: Guide unit
141: Horizontal guide
142: Vertical guide
150: Lift unit
151: Driving pulley
152: Follow pulley
153:
154: elevator
155: Chip bracket
160: Chip feed motor
200: Pipette assembly
210: Recovery pipette
220: pipette drive motor
300: dish cartridge
310: dish housing
320:
330: Dish
340: solution tube
400: Detection sensor
500: Encoder
600: controller

Claims (9)

A chip assembly including a filter chip for separating target cells from the process solution, and a chip drive motor for lifting and lowering the filter chip;
A recovery pipette for recovering the target cells separated from the filter chip; a pipette assembly for providing a pipette driving motor for moving the recovery pipette up and down;
A dish cartridge in which the remaining process solution in which the target cells are separated is accommodated;
A sensing sensor for sensing the recovery pipette and the filter chip located at predetermined designing points;
An encoder for counting the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor and the pipette driving motor when the recovery pipette and the filtration chip are located at the setting point; And
Calculating a selection height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip corresponding to a predetermined relative height from the information about the rotation speed of the drive shaft counted by the encoder, and calculating, upon recovery of the target cells remaining on the filtration chip, And a controller for adjusting the movement height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip in accordance with the selected height.
The method according to claim 1,
The chip assembly
A chip base disposed on one side of the dish cartridge;
A horizontal guide provided on the chip base for guiding the horizontal movement of the filter chip and a vertical guide for guiding the vertical movement of the filter chip;
A driven pulley driven by the driving pulley of the chip driving motor, a driven pulley connected to the driving pulley by a belt, a driven shaft driven by the driven pulley and having an elevating mechanism rotatably coupled to the outer circumferential surface thereof, An elevating unit including a chip bracket, one end of which is drive-connected to the driven shaft via the elevator gear, and the filter chip is mounted on the other end;
A chip transfer motor for transferring the elevation unit in the horizontal direction along the horizontal guide; And
Further comprising a base cover covering the chip base to protect the guide unit, the elevation unit, and the chip transfer motor.
The method according to claim 1,
The dish cartridge
Dish housing;
A sensing region provided on the upper portion of the dish housing to provide the setting point, the sensing region being disposed on an inner wall thereof;
A dish provided on an upper portion of the dish housing to be spaced apart from the tappet; And
And a solution tube provided on top of the dish housing to allow the process solution to be received.
The method according to claim 1,
The dish
A body portion having a bottom surface formed to be inclined; And
And a support portion coupled to an upper portion of the body portion and having a support piece for supporting the filter chip.
The method according to claim 1,
The filter chip
Characterized in that it has a mesh filter in which a plurality of filtration holes are formed in order to separate the target cells.
The method according to claim 1,
The target cell
Characterized in that it is a Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC / CTCs).
Sensing a recovery pipette and a filtration chip located at predefined setting points;
Counting the number of revolutions of the driving shaft of the chip driving motor and the pipette driving motor that lifts the recovery pipette and the filtration chip when the recovery pipette and the filtration chip are sensed;
Calculating a selection height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip corresponding to a predetermined relative height through information on the rotation number of the drive shaft; And
And adjusting a moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip in accordance with the calculated height of the target cell when collecting the target cells remaining on the filtration chip.
The method of claim 7,
Wherein the step of adjusting the moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip comprises:
Calculating a rotation speed of the drive shaft of the pipette drive motor corresponding to the selected height, and rotating the drive shaft of the pipette drive motor by the calculated rotation speed of the drive shaft.
The method of claim 8,
Wherein the step of adjusting the moving height of the recovery pipette and the filtration chip comprises:
And the drive shaft of the chip drive motor is rotated by the calculated drive shaft rotation number. When the drive shaft of the chip drive motor is rotated, the drive shaft of the chip drive motor Wherein the drive pulley connected to the driving pulley rotates the driven shaft of the driven pulley to move the chip bracket on which the filter chip is mounted up and down along the vertical guide.

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