title: Vision-based Nano Robotic System for High-throughput Non-embedded Cell Cutting.
abstract: Cell cutting is a significant task in biology study, but the highly productive non-embedded cell cutting is still a big challenge for current techniques. This paper proposes a vision-based nano robotic system and then realizes automatic non-embedded cell cutting with this system. First, the nano robotic system is developed and integrated with a nanoknife inside an environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Then, the positions of the nanoknife and the single cell are recognized, and the distance between them is calculated dynamically based on image processing. To guarantee the positioning accuracy and the working efficiency, we propose a distance-regulated speed adapting strategy, in which the moving speed is adjusted intelligently based on the distance between the nanoknife and the target cell. The results indicate that the automatic non-embedded cutting is able to be achieved within 1-2 mins with low invasion benefiting from the high precise nanorobot system and the sharp edge of nanoknife. This research paves a way for the high-throughput cell cutting at cell's natural condition, which is expected to make significant impact on the biology studies, especially for the in-situ analysis at cellular and subcellular scale, such as cell interaction investigation, neural signal transduction and low invasive cell surgery.
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Department, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710054, China.
authors.forename: Wanfeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Haojian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wenfeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: School of Mechatronic Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shen Zhen 518057, China.
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D057205:Automation, Laboratory; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods; D015003:Yeasts