Hybrid manual-electronic pipette
A hybrid manual-electronic pipette combines a manually driven piston with real-time electronic measurement of liquid volume and piston displacement while compensating for both pipette-specific and pipette model-specific variations. The hybrid nature of the pipette facilitates increased accuracy and improved ease of use, and enables additional functionalities not practicable with traditional manual pipettes.
1. A method of verifying a user technique in a pipetting operation performed with a hybrid manual-electronic pipette having an electronic sensor and a processing unit, the method comprising the steps of:
performing a pipetting operation;
identifying the pipetting operation from a plurality of available pipetting operations;
obtaining a measurement from the electronic sensor while performing the pipetting operation;
identifying a criterion corresponding to the pipetting operation;
processing the measurement with the processing unit of the pipette to obtain a parameter;
comparing the parameter to the criterion; and
performing an action in response to the comparing of the parameter to the criterion if the adjusted parameter does not meet the criterion.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pipetting operation comprises one of: an aspiration stroke, a dispense stroke, a pause before aspiration, a pause after aspiration, a blowout stroke, a pause after blowout, a mixing stroke, or a titration stroke.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of identifying the pipetting operation comprises the steps of:
observing a plurality of preceding events; and
on the basis of the plurality of preceding events and an operating mode of the pipette, identifying a subsequent operation to follow the preceding events.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of preceding events comprises a plurality of measurements of combinations of stroke directions, pause locations, stroke starting locations, stroke ending locations, pause lengths, and counted cycles.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic sensor comprises at least one of a piston position sensor, a liquid volume sensor, a piston speed sensor, a pipette orientation sensor, an accelerometer, or a tip depth sensor.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criterion comprises a numeric floor or ceiling.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criterion comprises a preset value.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criterion comprises a user-programmable value.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit includes a technique verification subsystem programmed to measure a plurality of parameters, and wherein the criterion is selected from a plurality of criteria corresponding to the plurality of parameters measured by the technique verification subsystem.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criterion comprises at least one of: a minimum pause at a home position preceding an aspiration stroke, a minimum pause at an upper stop following an aspiration stroke, a maximum piston speed during an aspiration stroke, a maximum piston speed during a dispensing stroke, a maximum piston speed during a blowout stroke, a minimum piston speed during a blowout stroke, an aspiration stroke starting location, an aspiration stroke ending location, or a dispensing stroke ending location.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises providing a warning to the user.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises storing a data record.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the data record comprises at least one of: a time stamp, a stroke number, a representation of the parameter, and a representation of the criterion.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises transmitting a message to an external apparatus via a wireless data link.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the message comprises at least one of: a time stamp, a stroke number, a representation of the parameter, and a representation of the criterion.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of learning a criterion value from at least one parameter.
17. A hybrid manual-electronic pipette operative to perform an action in response to an improper pipetting technique, the pipette comprising:
a piston assembly comprising a manually operated piston and an electronic sensor coupled to the piston;
a fluid-tight liquid end receiving the piston and defining a distal opening permitting fluid to be picked up or discharged therethrough in response to movement of the piston within the liquid end; and
a processing unit coupled to the electronic sensor, wherein the processing unit includes a technique verification subsystem programmed to measure at least one parameter of at least one pipetting operation, to compare the parameter to a criterion, and to direct the processing unit to perform an action if the parameter does not meet the criterion.
18. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the electronic sensor comprises at least one of a piston position sensor, a liquid volume sensor, a piston speed sensor, a pipette orientation sensor, an accelerometer, or a tip depth sensor.
19. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the criterion comprises a numeric floor or ceiling.
20. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the criterion comprises a preset value.
21. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the criterion comprises a user-programmable value.
22. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the criterion is selected from a plurality of criteria measured by the technique verification subsystem.
23. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the criterion comprises at least one of: a minimum pause at a home position preceding an aspiration stroke, a minimum pause at an upper stop following an aspiration stroke, a maximum piston speed during an aspiration stroke, a maximum piston speed during a dispense stroke, a maximum piston speed during a blowout stroke, a minimum piston speed during a blowout stroke, an aspiration stroke starting location, an aspiration stroke ending location, or a dispensing stroke ending location.
24. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the action comprises providing a warning to the user.
25. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the action comprises storing a data record.
26. The hybrid pipette of claim 25 , wherein the data record comprises at least one of: a time stamp, a stroke number, a representation of the parameter, and a representation of the criterion.
27. The hybrid pipette of claim 17 , wherein the action comprises transmitting a message to an external apparatus.
28. The hybrid pipette of claim 27 , wherein the message comprises at least one of: a time stamp, a stroke number, a representation of the parameter, and a representation of the criterion.