Particle sorting device, particle sorting method, program, and particle sorting system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017191925-A1
Application number	US-201415116830-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 19, 2014
Priority date	Feb 13, 2014
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a particle sorting device capable of simply detecting bubbles, foreign substances, or the like in droplets, a method for analyzing particles, a program, and a particle sorting system. The particle sorting device includes a judgment unit, and the judgment unit judges whether or not captured image information including captured droplet image information about a brightness of an image of particle-containing droplets captured after discharge from an orifice has changed with respect to previously-set reference image information including reference droplet image information about a brightness of an image of droplets captured after discharge from the orifice.

First claim

1 . A particle sorting device including a judgment unit that judges whether or not captured image information including captured droplet image information about a brightness of an image of particle-containing droplets captured after discharge from an orifice has changed with respect to previously-set reference image information including reference droplet image information about a brightness of an image of droplets captured after discharge from the orifice.

2 . The particle sorting device according to claim 1 , wherein the reference image information includes the reference droplet image information and reference background image information about a brightness of an image of a background other than the droplets, whose peak brightness value is higher than that of the reference droplet image information, and
the captured image information includes the captured droplet image information and captured background image information about a brightness other than the droplets, whose peak brightness value is higher than that of the captured droplet image information.

3 . The particle sorting device according to claim 2 , wherein the judgment unit judges whether or not the peak brightness value of the captured droplet image information is higher than the peak brightness value of the reference droplet image information.

4 . The particle sorting device according to claim 2 , wherein the judgment unit judges whether or not the captured droplet image information is smaller in a number of pixels within a predetermined range of brightness from the peak brightness value of the droplet image in the reference droplet image information than the reference droplet image information.

5 . The particle sorting device according to claim 2 , wherein the judgment unit judges whether or not the captured droplet image information is smaller in a number of pixels within a predetermined range of brightness from the peak brightness value of the image other than the droplets in the reference image information than the reference droplet image information.

6 . The particle sorting device according to claim 1 , comprising
a charge unit that applies an electric charge to at least some of droplets discharged from the orifice, deflection plates that are provided so as to be opposed to each other across a fluid stream formed by the droplets to change a traveling direction of the droplets, and a first imaging unit that captures an image of the droplets at a position where a fluid discharged from the orifice is converted into droplets to generate the reference image information and the captured image information.

7 . The particle sorting device according to claim 6 , further comprising a storage unit that stores the reference image information.

8 . The particle sorting device according to claim 6 , wherein the reference image information is image information including an image of droplets containing no particle.

9 . The particle sorting device according to claim 6 , further comprising
a second imaging unit that captures an image of the droplets that have passed through between the deflection plates, wherein the judgment unit judges whether or not second image information of the droplets acquired by the second imaging unit is previously-set stable image information, and wherein when the second image information is the stable image information, image information of the droplets about the second image information captured by the first imaging unit is determined as the reference image information.

10 . The particle sorting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a notification unit that notifies a user of warning information
when the captured image information has changed with respect to the reference image information.

11 . The particle sorting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a control unit that automatically stops sorting of particle-containing droplets
when the captured image information has changed with respect to the reference image information.

12 . A method for analyzing particles, including the step of allowing a judgment unit to judge whether or not captured image information including captured droplet image information about a brightness of an image of particle-containing droplets captured after discharge from an orifice has changed with respect to previously-set reference image information including reference droplet image information about a brightness of an image of droplets captured after discharge from the orifice.

13 . A program which allows a particle sorting device to perform a function of judging whether or not captured image information including captured droplet image information about a brightness of an image of particle-containing droplets captured after discharge from an orifice has changed with respect to previously-set reference image information including reference droplet image information about a brightness of an image of droplets captured after discharge from the orifice.

14 . A particle sorting system including a judgment unit that judges whether or not captured image information including captured droplet image information about a brightness of an image of particle-containing droplets captured after discharge from an orifice has changed with respect to previously-set reference image information including reference droplet image information about a brightness of an image of droplets captured after discharge from the orifice.

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Otsuka Fumitaka

Classifications

• G01N2015/1006

  for cytology · CPC title

• G01N15/1459

  the analysis being performed on a sample stream · CPC title

• G01N2015/0011

  in liquids, e.g. bubbles · CPC title

• G01N2015/1418

  Eliminating clogging of debris · CPC title

• G06T7/90

  Determination of colour characteristics · CPC title