Slide Handling and Retention Apparatus

Ventana Medical Systems asked the team to design and fabricate a slide-retention apparatus able to pick up a standard microscope slide with 1.2 milliliters of liquid and transport it to a designated location while retaining 90 percent of the liquid and finishing the cycle within one minute. Additionally, the device must be easy to operate and be an appropriate size to place on a standard lab bench. The device is designed to operate after a laboratory technician places the slide within the system and presses a button. Once the command is received, the system moves to an initial position, verifies slide placement via a photoelectric sensor, lifts the slide using a vacuum subassembly, and transports it to the designated location. The system then releases the slide and verifies successful delivery. The designed system can move with four degrees of freedom: 24 inches horizontally, 15 inches vertically, 10 inches in depth, and 180 degrees around the vertical axis. System liquid retention was verified by repeated analysis of the system cycle as determined by difference in initial and final slide weight.