PUBLICATION

Design of an automated robotic microinjection system for batch injection of zebrafish embryos and larvae

Authors
Guo, Z., Ai, N., Ge, W., Xu, Q.
ID
ZDB-PUB-240131-13
Date
2024
Source
Microsystems & nanoengineering   10: 2020 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Ai, Nana, Ge, Wei
Keywords
Electrical and electronic engineering, Microengraving
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
38292776 Full text @ Microsyst Nanoeng
Abstract
This paper presents the design of a vision-based automated robotic microinjection system for batch injection of both zebrafish embryos and larvae. A novel visual recognition algorithm based on an automatic threshold and excessive dilatation is introduced to accurately identify the center of zebrafish embryos and larval yolks. A corresponding software system is developed using the producer-consumer model as the framework structure, and a friendly user interface is designed to allow operators to choose from a range of desired functions according to their different needs. In addition, a novel microstructural agarose device is designed and fabricated to simultaneously immobilize mixed batches of embryos and larvae. Moreover, a prototype microinjection system is fabricated by integrating hardware devices with visual algorithms. An experimental study is conducted to verify the performance of the robotic microinjection system. The results show that the reported system can accurately identify zebrafish embryos and larvae and efficiently complete batch microinjection tasks of the mixtures with an injection success rate of 92.05% in 13.88 s per sample. Compared with manual and existing microinjection systems, the proposed system demonstrates the merits of versatility, excellent efficiency, high success rate, high survival rate, and sufficient stability.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping