Development

Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

March 18th

Presentation Proposal:

Proposed we are going to divide the final product into 3 component – Main part (stepper motor), arm, base

Main part:

  • Includes the camera → Real-time imaging – set a certain time e.g. 0.5 sec, so the camera will capture the image every 0.5 sec
  • Problem = how to program for the machine to detect separation of the layer
  • Problem next step = how to connect camera to the machine
  • Micropipette is embedded – can be taken out of the machinery as well
  • Having e.g. 3 micropipettes of different volume (20, 200, 1000um) and rotating it – depending on the volume needed to be sucked

Arm:

  • Moving the main part up and down, left and right → for the micropipette to reach the tube

Base:

  • Clamp holding the 1.5 ml epi tube
  • It is only going to hold the top part of the tube → so camera can detect the whole tube without the base disturbing it
  • The angle will be adjustable → to allow the pipette to obtain as much of the solution as possible
  • Designing the instrument to hold the 1.5 ml epi tube
  • Programing to image the separation of the layer (https://opencv.org/)
  • Next step = how to connect the camera to the machine
  • Real-time imaging – set a certain time e.g. 0.5 sec, so the camera will capture the image every 0.5 sec
  • Having e.g. 3 micropipettes of different volume (20, 200, 1000um) and rotating it – depending the needs

Concern:

  • The main part is too heavy, worried that the arm may not be able to sustain it / it may break off

April 1st 

Questions for Professor Choe Young Jun (user of micropipette):

  1. What are the things we need to consider while making this product

Feedback: How far the micropipette will go down. Is the height fixed?

  1. As a micropipette user, what features do you wish to be inside
  2. Do you think you will use this product (a fully developed product with a better quality than ours), if not why

Existing product =

  1. If this product is made, do you desire to have it in your lab? Is there a need?

→ Yes, and can be used in labs such for microbiology

This product can be used when doing:

  • Mammalian cell culturing
  • Precipitating DNA

IDEAS:

 

May 10th 2022

Agenda: 

  • Discuss budgeting list
  • Further discussion in the computer vision
  • Discuss further development
  • Discuss next week's goal/ what to be done by next week

Computer Vision:

  • 2 Alternative Camera Placement
    • Stick together with the stepper motor (so it moves with the motor)
      • Pros:
        • The camera could be more zoomed in on the colour difference/pixel
    • Put static in 1 position
      • Pros:
        • Lighting could be constant
        • Less time delay
  • How the computer vision work:
    • Capture the image first
    • Differentiate the different colour layer
      • Let the device scan the picture
      • Take a pixel of the layer, let the device determine the RGB value
      • Count the number of pixels with the same RGB value (give some tolerances), and translate the number of pixels to real-life size.
    • Calculate the depth of each layer (by detecting the colour change)
    • Send instructions to the stepper motor on how far it needs to go down
    • Suck up the layer and dispense the layer into another bowl/tube

Budget List:

  • Rediscuss to Tony about:
    • Stepper motor
    • Camera
    • White LED light for lighting
    • Board for background
  • Confirm if the Ender 5 base moves or not.

Further Development/ Mini Goals:

  • Use syringe first:
    • Try separating 2 very different liquids first (ex. Oil and water)
  • If using a syringe is successful, we try using a micropipette
    • Try separating 2 very different liquids first (ex. Oil and water)
    • Try separating supernatant and pellet
  • Additional usage: 
    • Help for color-blind researchers
    • Make an application to control the device

 

 

May 21st 2022

Agenda: 

  • Discuss the components we need
  • How we're going to build
  • How the code is going to be processed
  • Pivot idea

To-Do List:

  • 3D design + print the test tube holder
  • System to move the syringe up and down
  • Study ramps 1.4
  • Code for the ramps 1.4 for the movement of XYZ + syringe
  • Measure the height of test tubes and microtubes
  • Integrate everything
  • Get better understanding of the problem with the industry (visit eppendorf)
  • 2 stages 
  • Work on Marlin (90 percent of the work)
  • Colour detection for multiple colours and their ranges (High precision)
  • Making App → secondary 

What we did:

  • Building Ender 5 printer
  • Decided to contact the industry to know the equipments used in the field, what our product can be used for, can our product be used in the industry 
  • Product application: for detecting disease – by looking at the colour of blood plasma 
    • Make an application for detecting whether the patient have disease or not by looking at the colour of blood plasma.
    • Yes = blood sample sent for further analysis (We are not going to do the ‘further analysis’ – we are only detecting whether patient is suspected to have a disease or not)
  • Blood plasma (top layer) is still separated regardless of whether the patient have disease or not.

  • Since we cannot be using real blood for testing – we are going to mix a certain colour dye and water (to make colour) and together with oil
    • Syringe taking in the oil – speed of the syringe sucking in oil similar to plasma? – viscosity of the plasma and oil

Roles:

  • Shariff + Rena: studying ramps 1.4 and working on Marlin code
  • Karina: Sending the email to industry + colour separation
  • Dana: Researching blood plasma disease + design CAD for test tube

May 26th 2022

Agenda: 

  • Sketch for Dr.Ho’s meeting
  • Discuss colour recognition for diagnosing patient
  • Trying the g-code
  1. Stepper motor and z-axis sliding table
  • Need to purchase 
  • Make CAD for attaching syringe 
  • Decide which stepper motor and z-axis sliding table:
    • Depending on how hard they need to press the syringe
    • How far can it go

2. XYZ axis

  • G-code → for moving the stepper motor (1st trial successful on May 26th)
  • Need to code for ramps 

3. Base 

  • CAD design needed

4. Separation of 2 layer

  • Have coded for OpenCV → to distinguish the 2 layer depending on the colour
  • Have emailed the industry for seeking advice
  • Our application = using blood → separating the plasma
  • Currently brainstorming how to test the separation since blood cannot be used (need to consider the viscosity as well)
    • Research conducted on viscosity → viscosity of milk is similar to plasma blood at 37 deg
  • 2 experiments:
    • #1 to test for speed of stepper motor + sliding table (considering viscosity)
    • #2 to test for separation of 2 layers using water (addition of red dye) + oil (NOT considering viscosity)

Enhancement (after consulting with Dr.Ho):

  • Move the syringe in the z-axis rather than the base moving (so the movement would be like a claw machine)
  • Adding an ejection for the syringe tip (modeling similar to the micropipette)

 

Why would you want to use our product?

Would it be good to use it?

Expanding it so more elements can be put in – whats after separating it?

Email 4-5 lines of what is the project, what you are trying to solve 

Use case prospective – what are the gaps?

What technology can help provide depth?

May 30th 2022

  1. Blood and Plasma separation
  2. Pellet and supernatent (highest point)

May 31st 2022

  1. Managed to successfully run opencv and calibrated the depth of travel for the pipette
  2. Code optimization: cut down code for processing from 49.00s to 1.56s. Cutting down processing time by 96.816%
  3. Increased precision by 2.25 times by increasing pixel resolution and pixel count to 1080p from 480p

June 3rd 2022

  • Sample testing:
      • Try the oil and water (For the blood plasma)
        • Use spectrophotometer to 
      • Try to do the cell separation
  • Cell separation:
      • Need to buy acrylic board, different colour light
      • Need to buy servo motor to turn or use the stepper motor to turn (Need to think of this very)
        • Because the pellet is not straight and might be curved as well
  • Big problem:
    • We can’t acquire blood
    • How to do the computer vision on cell separation (this way harder than you think)
    • Need to think of a narrative and data to convince profs
    • No companies and hospital are responding

June 8th 2022

Meeting with Prof Valerie

  • Have confirmed that blood sample cannot be obtained
  • Thus, will be using aqueous solution which can mimic blood plasma

 

Meeting with Dr Ho

  • We have presented our additional idea (cells – supernatant and pellet) + presented our ‘light’ idea indicating how we are going to tackle the problem with having the same colour
  • Dr Ho suggested laser and light sensor can be used
  • Research how long it takes to collect blood sample + centrifuge + separate
  • If someone has done this / if this product is commercialised research what components they have
  • Think about system thinking – making iterations 

 

Meeting with Hanyang

  • Flow of first meeting:
  1. Problem -  overview, what ppl done in the past, what we’re trying to do and what we’ve done
  2. Solution
  3. Chart – higher level of what’s involved in set up
  4. Timeline – how much of time we need coding/integrating – allocate time
  5. Budget (less important)
  • Show the video – coding, and micropipette
  • Consider how the tips are going to be positioned 
    • We proposed having the 96 tips box on the base (easier for scientists to refill tips) – meaning we also need to code for this one 

June 12th 2022

Building and printing the CAD for base

June 26th 2022

We have adjusted the speed of the x axis and y axis of the machine to make it faster. 

 

July 1st

  1. Trial of two distinct colour separation (orange and blue)

2. Video of separation between coloured solution and oil