Controlled ultrasonic micro-dissection of thin tissue sections.
In order to obtain sufficient quantities of pure populations of cells or a single cell from surrounding tissue for analytical investigation, we have developed an ultrasonic microdissection system. The system utilizes a vision-based method for detecting the contact between the microdissection needle tip and a target surface. A multilayer stack piezoelectric actuator is employed to generate ultrasonic vibrations for histological isolation. Automated micro-dissection is also realized using visual feedback and vision-based control. Experimental results on tumor tissue sections show that the system has a high dissection accuracy and efficiency and is able to realize dissecting arbitrary shapes in specified locations on a tissue sample. Furthermore, effects in variations of vibration amplitude and frequency of ultrasonic micro-dissection as well as needle insertion depths on micro-dissection accuracy and speed were evaluated.
College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, China, rchhai@gmail.com.
Changhai
C
Ru
Jun
J
Liu
Ming
M
Pang
Yu
Y
Sun
D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D042282:Microdissection / Q000379:methods; D009339:Needles; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014732:Vibration