Virtual pipetting

{
  "publication_number": "US12416646B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Virtual pipetting",
  "abstract": "A method for generating a control program for a laboratory automation device includes receiving configuration data of the laboratory automation device, generating a three-dimensional model of the components of the laboratory automation device from the configuration data, the three-dimensional model additionally including a virtual pipette; displaying the three-dimensional model with a virtual reality headset; receiving movement data of a motion sensing controller controlled by a user wearing the virtual reality headset, the movement data indicating a three-dimensional movement of the motion sensing controller in space; determining a movement of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model from the movement data and updating the three-dimensional model according to the movement of the virtual pipette; and generating a control program for the laboratory automation device from the movement data.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method for generating a control program for a laboratory automation device with a control system, the laboratory automation device comprising: a plurality of components comprising at least one of a well, a microliter plate, a reagent container, or a sample tube; one or more sensors for determining at least one of positions or orientations of the plurality of components; and a pipetting arm with a pipette; the control system comprising: the laboratory automation device; a virtual reality headset; a motion sensing controller; and a computing device communicatively interconnected with the laboratory automation device, the virtual reality headset, and the motion sensing controller and configured to perform the method, the method comprising: receiving configuration data of the laboratory automation device, the configuration data encoding at least one of the positions or the orientations of the plurality of components in the laboratory automation device, wherein at least some of the configuration data is determined with the one or more sensors of the laboratory automation device, wherein the laboratory automation device comprises a changeable layout with the plurality of components that are moveable, removable and includable into the laboratory automation device by a user, wherein the at least one of the positions or the orientations of the plurality of components are determined with the one or more sensors of the laboratory automation device; generating a three-dimensional model of the plurality of components of the laboratory automation device from the configuration data, the three-dimensional model additionally including a virtual pipette; displaying the three-dimensional model with the virtual reality headset; receiving movement data of the motion sensing controller controlled by a user wearing the virtual reality headset, the movement data indicating a three-dimensional movement of the motion sensing controller in space; determining a movement of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model from the movement data and updating the three-dimensional model according to the movement of the virtual pipette; generating a control program for the laboratory automation device from the movement data, wherein the control program is programed for moving the pipetting arm with the pipette of the laboratory automation device with respect to the plurality of components according to the movement of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model; receiving activation data from the motion sensing controller, the activation data indicating a finger movement of the user on the motion sensing controller; and determining at least one of an aspiration or dispensing of a liquid in the three-dimensional model from the position of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model at which the activation data indicates an activation of the motion sensing controller; wherein the control program is configured to control the pipette of the pipetting arm for aspirating and dispensing of a liquid accordingly to the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model.",
    "2. The method of claim 1, wherein aspiration points and dispensing points for liquids are determined from the movement and the activation data; and wherein a movement of the pipetting arm is determined from the aspiration points and dispensing points.",
    "3. The method of claim 1, wherein a movement of liquids virtually aspirated and dispensed with the virtual pipette is performed in the three-dimensional model and displayed in the virtual reality headset.",
    "4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of components further include a disposable tip and a mounting and movement of the disposable tip is performed in the three-dimensional model and displayed in the virtual reality headset.",
    "5. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each component of the plurality of components, the configuration data encodes a type of component and a position of the component in the laboratory automation device; wherein the three-dimensional model is generated from modeling data encoding a geometric layout for each component.",
    "6. The method of claim 1, wherein types of liquids contained in the plurality of components are specified in the configuration data of the laboratory automation device; and wherein different types of liquids are differently visualized in the three-dimensional model.",
    "7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of movement data or activation data is recorded for one virtual sample; and wherein the control program is generated, such that the control program repeats at least one of the movement of the pipetting arm or aspiration and dispensing of the pipette for a plurality of real samples in the laboratory automation device.",
    "8. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion sensing controller is configured to be held in a hand of a user wearing the virtual reality headset; wherein the motion sensing controller comprises a motion sensor for generating the movement data; and wherein the motion sensing controller comprises a button for generating activation data.",
    "9. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual pipette is a multichannel pipette comprising a plurality of pipette tips.",
    "10. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for performing a process for generating a control program for a laboratory automation device, which, when being executed by a processor, is configured to carry out the steps of the method of claim 1.",
    "11. A control system for a laboratory automation device, the control system comprising: the laboratory automation device with the one or more sensors; the virtual reality headset; the motion sensing controller; the computing device communicatively interconnected with the laboratory automation device, the virtual reality headset and the motion sensing controller and configured to perform the method according claim 1."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The invention relates to a method, a computer program and a computer-readable medium for generating a control program for a laboratory automation device as well as to a control system.\n\nLaboratory automation devices are used for automating tasks of a laboratory assistant, which, for example, tests a patient for specific diseases. Usually, a sample of the patient's blood, urine, stool, etc. is taken and analyzed by means of a bio-chemical procedure. Such a procedure consists in various operations like adding substances, incubating, separating, etc. and a measurement process which quantitatively or qualitatively measures the amount or presence of a substance indicating the specific disease.\n\nUsually, the programming of a laboratory automation device is a complicated task that needs special skills. A program for controlling the laboratory automation device may have to be input into a controlling PC. Although graphical tools for generating such a program may exist, more complicated procedures may have to be implemented with a specific scripting language, which needs special knowledge in programming and in the functioning of the laboratory automation device. Therefore, laboratory assistants tend to perform procedures with a small number of samples themselves.\n\nTo simplify the programming of a laboratory automation device with a robot arm, it is known to manually move the robot arm in a teach mode, in which the robot arm can be freely moved to any location and teachpoints can be set by simply pressing a button.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01N 35/1072",
    "B01L 3/0293",
    "B25J 9/1671",
    "G01N 2035/00891",
    "G01N 2035/0091",
    "G01N 35/00584",
    "G01N 35/00722",
    "G01N 35/0099",
    "G05B 19/41835",
    "G05B 2219/39001",
    "G05B 2219/39014",
    "G05B 2219/39451"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B25J 9/16",
    "G01N 35/00",
    "G01N 35/10",
    "G05B 19/418"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Tecan Trading AG"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Ronan Leboudec"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2023-06-15",
  "publication_date": "2025-09-16",
  "grant_date": "2025-09-16",
  "priority_date": "2018-02-20",
  "application_number": "US-202318210513-A",
  "family_id": "61256575",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
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}