THERMOCHROMIC SENSING DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS

1 . A device comprising:

a test vessel having one or more test locations configured to contain a medium suitable for culturing a live substance; and

a thermochromic material thermally coupled to the one or more test locations, the thermochromic material configured to exhibit a spectral shift in light emanating from the thermochromic material in response to a change in temperature of the thermochromic material.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the live substance comprises one or more of bacteria, archea, protists, fungi, plant cells, animal cells, viruses in an appropriate host cell, phages in appropriate cells, cancer cell culture, and tissue cell culture.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the spectral shift in the light emanating from the thermochromic material comprises a spectral shift in at least one of scattered, reflected, and fluorescent light emanating from the thermochromic material.

4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein:

the light emanating from the thermochromic material is in response to measurement light that interacts with the thermochromic material; and

the vessel, at least at the test locations, is optically transmissive to one or more of the scattered light, the reflected light, the fluorescent light, and the measurement light.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the test vessel is a component of an incubation cartridge configured for insertion into a test system.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the test vessel is a multi-well test plate and the one or more test locations are test wells of the test plate.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein multi-well test plate uses a standard plate such as a 24-well plate or a 96-well plate or a 384-well plate or a 1536-well plate with a standard plate pitch.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the thermochromic material comprises one or more of thermochromic liquid crystals, leuco dye, a fluorophore, Prodan bound to DPPC, or a fluorescent protein.

9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the light emanating from the thermochromic material is configured to exhibit a spectral shift as a function of temperature in a range of about 0.5 nm/K to about 1000 nm/K.

10 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a light blocking layer, a heat insulation layer, a heat conducting layer, a biocompatible layer, and a sterile layer disposed at the test locations.

11 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a layer comprising one or more of parylene, indium-tin-oxide (ITO), metal, polyethylene glycol (PEG), diamond, zinc oxide, graphene, graphite, and indium phosphide.

12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the test vessel further comprises one or more optical sensors arranged to sense light emanating from the thermochromic material.

13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the thermochromic material comprises thermochromic regions embedded in the medium at the test locations.

14 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising fluidic channels fluidically coupled to the test locations or heat exchange regions near the test locations.

15 . A device, comprising:

a test vessel having one or more test locations configured to contain a medium suitable for culturing a live substance; and

a coating thermally coupled to the one or more test locations, the coating comprising thermochromic material configured to exhibit a spectral shift in light emanating from the thermochromic material in response to a change in temperature of the thermochromic material.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein:

the test vessel comprises a test plate;

the one or more test locations are test wells of the test plate; and

the coating is a layer of the thermochromic material thermally coupled to the test wells.

17 . The device of claim 16 , further comprising one or more additional layers, the additional layers comprising one or more of a biocompatible layer and a light blocking layer, a heat conducting layer, the one or more additional layers disposed between the layer of thermochromic material and the medium.

18 . A kit, comprising:

a sterile test vessel having multiple test locations;

a medium contained by the test vessel at the test locations, the medium suitable for culturing a live substance; and

a thermochromic material thermally coupled to the test locations, the thermochromic material configured to exhibit a spectral shift in light emanating from the thermochromic material in response to a change in temperature of the thermochromic material.

19 . The kit of claim 18 , wherein further comprising one or more test substances at the one or more test locations.

20 . The kit of claim 19 , wherein the one or more test substances comprise different types, different amounts, and different combinations of drugs at the test locations.

21 . A method comprising:

providing a test vessel having one or more test locations configured to contain a medium suitable for culturing a live substance; and

disposing a thermochromic material so that it is thermally coupled to one or more test locations, the thermochromic material configured to exhibit a spectral shift in light emanating from the thermochromic material in response to an increase or decrease in energy conversion by the live substance which causes a change in temperature of the thermochromic material.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein:

providing the test vessel comprises providing a test plate having multiple test wells; and

disposing the thermochromic material comprises depositing a coating of the thermochromic material so that the coating is thermally coupled to the test wells.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein:

providing the test vessel comprises providing a test plate having multiple test wells; and

disposing one or more test substances at the one or more test locations influences growth of the live substance over time.

24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the live substance is derived from a human sample.