US-20260126350-A1 - EXTRACTION APPARARTUS AND METHOD FOR EXTRACTING

US20260126350A1US 20260126350 A1US20260126350 A1US 20260126350A1US-20260126350-A1

Abstract

An extraction device includes a bell having a hollow interior cavity. The bell is configured to extend downwardly into a receptacle that receives and retains one or more beads. A probe is retained within the bell and configured for reciprocal motion to extend into and retract out of the receptacle. A head of the probe is connected to a stem of the probe such that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem. A rim of the head circumferentially surrounds a junction with the stem and defines an interior surface of the head facing into the interior cavity of the bell. The probe is configured for extending into the receptacle to enable the beads to rest upon the rim, and for retracting to withdraw the beads upward into the hollow cavity of the bell, for extracting the bell and the beads from the receptacle.

Inventors

David J. Goodin
Douglas C. Dodd
Stephen M. Walters

Assignees

David J. Goodin
Douglas C. Dodd
Stephen M. Walters

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241101

Claims (18)

1 . An extraction device, comprising: a bell having a hollow interior cavity, wherein the bell is configured to extend downwardly into a receptacle that receives and retains at least one bead; a probe retained within the bell and configured for reciprocal motion to extend into and retract out of the receptacle; a head of the probe connected to a stem of the probe such that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem; a rim of the head circumferentially surrounding a junction with the stem and defining an interior surface of the head facing into the interior cavity of the bell; wherein the probe is configured for extending into the receptacle to enable the at least one bead to rest upon the rim; and wherein the probe is configured for retracting to withdraw the at least one bead upward into the interior cavity of the bell, for extracting the bell and the at least one bead from the receptacle.
2 . The extraction device of claim 1 , wherein the bell is a component of an outer bead picker tip and the probe is a component of an inner bead picker tip.
3 . The extraction device of claim 2 , wherein the inner bead picker tip is received and retained within the outer bead picker tip.
4 . The extraction device of claim 3 , wherein the outer bead picker tip comprises a cap having an aperture for connecting to a support housing, and a body comprising the bell such that the interior cavity comprises a central bore with an axis for coaxially receiving and retaining the inner bead picker tip.
5 . The extraction device of claim 4 , wherein the body of the outer bead picker is cylindrical having an outer diameter sized to fit within a diameter of a cylindrical receptacle.
6 . The extraction device of claim 1 , further comprising an electromagnetically actuated solenoid connected to the probe for effecting the reciprocal motion of selectively extending and retracting the probe.
7 . The extraction device of claim 1 , wherein the head of the probe is generally conical and wherein the rim is configured to have a curved profile corresponding to a shape of the at least one bead, to facilitate resting of the at least one bead on the rim.
8 . The extraction device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one bead comprises three beads in a circumferential configuration around the stem, wherein an inner diameter of the bell is sized to receive and accommodate a width of the three beads in the circumferential configuration.
9 . A bead picker, comprising: an outer bead picker tip having a proximal end and a distal end, further comprising a cap at the proximal end for connecting to a support housing and a body having a central bore, wherein the body defines a bell at the distal end and the central bore comprises a hollow interior cavity of the bell, wherein the outer bead picker tip is configured to extend the bell downwardly into a receptacle that receives and retains at least one bead; an inner bead picker tip retained within the central bore of the outer bead picker tip, wherein the inner bead picker tip comprises a probe retained within the bell and configured for reciprocal motion to extend into and retract out of the receptacle; a head of the probe connected to a stem of the probe such that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem; a rim of the head circumferentially surrounding a junction with the stem and defining an interior surface of the head facing into the interior cavity of the bell; and an electromagnetically actuated solenoid retained within the support housing and connected to the inner bead picker tip probe for effecting the reciprocal motion of the inner bead picker tip; wherein the solenoid is configured to selectively extend the probe into the receptacle to enable the at least one bead to rest upon the rim, and to subsequently retract the probe and the at least one bead upward into the interior cavity of the bell, for extracting the bell and the at least one bead from the receptacle.
10 . The bead picker of claim 9 , wherein the body of the outer bead picker is cylindrical having an outer diameter sized to fit within a diameter of a cylindrical receptacle.
11 . The bead picker of claim 9 , wherein the head of the probe is generally conical and wherein the rim is configured to have a curved profile corresponding to a shape of the at least one bead, to facilitate resting of the at least one bead on the rim.
12 . The bead picker of claim 9 , wherein the at least one bead comprises three beads in a circumferential configuration around the stem, wherein an inner diameter of the bell is sized to receive and accommodate a width of the three beads in the circumferential configuration.
13 . A method of extracting beads, comprising steps of: providing a receptacle retaining at least one bead; downwardly extending a bell having a hollow interior cavity into the receptacle proximal to the at least one bead; extending a probe outwardly from within the bell into the receptacle, alongside the at least one bead, so that the at least one bead rests atop an interior surface of the probe; extending the bell further into the receptacle to encircle the at least one bead; retracting the probe to withdraw the at least one bead upward into the hollow cavity of the bell; and extracting the bell, the probe, and the at least one bead from the receptacle.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising steps of downwardly extending the bell, the probe, and the at least one bead into a different receptacle, and extending the probe outwardly from the bell into the different receptacle to release the at least one bead and thereby depositing the at least one bead into the different receptacle.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising a step of washing the at least one bead or extracting a predetermined material from an exterior surface of the at least one bead while in the different receptacle.
16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising retracting three beads in a circumferential configuration around the probe into the bell having an inner diameter sized to receive and accommodate a width of the three beads in the circumferential configuration.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the probe comprises a head connected to a stem such that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem, and wherein a rim of the head circumferentially surrounds a junction with the stem, wherein the rim comprises the interior surface of the head facing into the interior cavity of the bell.
18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the steps of extending and retracting the probe are performed using an electromagnetically actuated solenoid connected to the probe for effecting reciprocal motion of the probe.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS I. BACKGROUND A. Technical Field This invention pertains to the field of extraction and transference of objects from vessels having a narrow opening. In particular, the invention pertains to the extraction and transference of beads from wells, particularly for use with medical applications. B. Description of Related Art In the field of cancer research, blood is processed to isolate and harvest cancer cells. These cancer cells are then used in various studies for developing drugs and treatment options. In one process, glass beads having a diameter of 2 mm (millimeters) are coated with a specific antigen that functions as “Cellular Velcro.” The coated beads are retained in a well and immersed in a sample of blood including cancer cells that have a certain protein that interlocks with the antigen. In this manner, the beads become coated with the cancer cells. The antigen only adheres to the cancer cells but does not adhere to any of the other blood constituents. After the immersion and coating steps, the coated beads are removed from the well and transferred into a different well where they are washed to remove all of the blood constituents except for the cancer cells adhered to the beads. This process is repeated four times where the beads are transferred to wells to ensure thorough washing of the beads. Afterwards, the beads are transferred to another well including a release buffer which causes the cancer cells to release into solution, whereupon they are harvested and used for the studies. The wells are typically cylindrical vessels or receptacles of about 6 mm in diameter, open at the top, and contain about 400 micrometers of fluid. In the prior art, the beads are removed manually by a technician, using a pair of tweezers to grab each bead separately. This is a slow, inefficient, time consuming and labor intensive method, prone to human error. It can be difficult for even an experienced technician to reach and grab beads through such a narrow opening, requiring multiple attempts for each bead. A bead can become lost or contaminated if dropped. So much handling can result in the beads becoming scuffed, rubbing the coating off the surface of the beads. II. SUMMARY Provided in this disclosure is an extraction device and method with particular applicability for extracting beads or other spherical objects from a well or other receptacle. The extraction device can be a bead picker including an outer bead picker tip having a proximal end and a distal end with a cap is at the proximal end for connecting to a support housing and a body having a central bore. The body defines a bell at the distal end and the central bore includes a hollow interior cavity of the bell. The outer bead picker tip is configured to extend the bell downwardly into a receptacle that receives and retains one or more beads. An inner bead picker tip is retained within the central bore of the outer bead picker tip. The inner bead picker tip includes a probe retained within the bell and configured for reciprocal motion to extend into and retract out of the receptacle. A head of the probe is connected to a stem of the probe in such a manner that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem. A rim of the head circumferentially surrounds a junction with the stem and defines an interior surface of the head facing into the interior cavity of the bell. An electromagnetically actuated solenoid is retained within the support housing and connected to the inner bead picker tip probe for effecting the reciprocal motion of the inner bead picker tip. The solenoid is configured to selectively extend the probe into the receptacle to enable the beads to rest upon the rim, and to subsequently retract the probe and the beads upward into the interior cavity of the bell, for extracting the bell and the beads from the receptacle. In further aspects, the body of the outer bead picker is cylindrical and has an outer diameter sized to fit within a diameter of a cylindrical receptacle. The head of the probe is generally conical and the rim is configured to have a curved profile corresponding to a shape of the beads, to facilitate resting of the beads on the rim. Three beads are provided in a circumferential configuration around the stem. The inner diameter of the bell is sized to receive and accommodate a width of the three beads in the circumferential configuration. In another aspect, the present extraction device includes a bell having a hollow interior cavity. The bell is configured to extend downwardly into a receptacle that receives and retains one or more beads. A probe is retained within the bell and configured for reciprocal motion to extend into and retract out of the receptacle. A head of the probe is connected to a stem of the probe such that a diameter of the head is greater than a diameter of the stem. A rim of the head circumferentially surrounds a junction with the stem and defines an interior surf