The Problem
In the medical field, there is a requirement to handle sensitive samples that require a specific environment to stay alive in. One example of these samples is the Neurovascular (NVU) Chip, which is a microfluidic device used to study the restorative potential of stem cell therapies. However, these environments are usually very strict, which makes it very difficult for laboratories to cooperate with each other on these research subjects, as transportation of live samples between locations is difficult. Thus, a problem arises.
In order to better enable collaboration between labs for development, the aim of our team is the following.
To create a portable enclosure that supports cell preservation in a liquid media whilst on a user journey of walking and driving for 4 hours without spillage and contamination.
Basically...
Designing a portable biological incubator with motion stabilization to facilitate the transport of liquid cells
Why NEST?
The focus of NEST is to be a cost effective solution that can hold up with existing market solutions in terms of incubation capabilities, while also being able to fulfill our main goal of safe transportation of live biological samples.
To transport engineered tissue cells, they must be maintained in a sterile environment with regulated temperature, humidity and atmospheric makeup. Additionally, engineered tissue cells can be in open form factors like NVU chips, requiring motion stabilization to minimize any chance of spillage.
Incubation
NEST includes a biological incubator capable of facilitating the survival of liquid media cells inside the NVU chips for up to four hours. The biological incubator has monitoring capabilities to ensure that the temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide (CO2) are constantly measured, with various measures put in to help adjust the environment where needed.
Changeable HEPA filters are utilized to ensure the cleanliness of intake air into the incubator, while closed loop air system ensures that the incubator obtains sufficient CO2 throughout the journey.
Temperature is maintained through heating pads set in the incubation chamber, allowing for rapid heating of the internal environment.
Motion Stabilization
A stabilizing active gimbal system is utilized to prevent the spillage of liquid cells contained in the NVU chips, capable of keeping the incubator stable for up to 30 degrees of rotation.
Features
NEST is designed to ensure hassle free transportation of the NVU chips starting from the loading of biological samples, throughout the transport of the incubator to the unloading of the chips at the destination.
Transport of biological cells needs to be done in a clean environment. Taking into account the different systems inside NEST, the team has designed a modular system to allow the cleaning ease of cleaning. This is done by dividing the smaller modules up into blocks, allowing for ease of removal to clean, and also ease of reconstruction.
An easily removable and compact petri-dish rack connected to the incubator lid is designed to allow for ease of loading of biological samples, and removal of biological samples. The choice of petri-dishes allows for greater compatibility with other biological materials, while the attachment to the lid also allows for the creation of other holders to support other forms of biological samples.
The incubator comes built in with the ability to change the parameters of CO2 and temperature within the sterile environment, allowing for other forms of biological material with different requirements to be stored within.
NEST weighs less than 15kg, offering various means of transporting it from point to point. It has an ergonomic design that allows for handheld carriage and a compact and rectangular form that allows it to be stacked up on a trolley or in a vehicle.
The regulation of carbon dioxide within the incubator uses 16oz CO2 canisters, which make it easily replaceable and obtainable from most stores.
NEST comes with a remote display, allowing for the user to remotely monitor the status of the incubator if it's in the backseat or in the car boot. To keep the user's eyes on the road while driving, audible notifications will be made so that the users can keep their eyes on the road. Furthermore, NEST also comes with logging features, recording the environmental variables throughout each journey that can be exported into easily read data to allow for researchers to analyze.
