iSystem Hardware : Robotics

Screen 1
The goal of this module is to provide a basic understanding of the system’s
robotics. You will learn the purpose of the various robotics devices and be able
to locate and identify their function within the process path.

Screen 2
You will also learn the purpose of the robotics control devices including:

x Indexer board
x Motor driver board
x DC driver input / output board
x Stepper motors
x Stepper motors with encoders
x Solenoids
x DC motors and sensor boards

Screen 3
You will also learn to locate and identify the function of various robotics devices
within the process path including:

x The RV loader
x Process path carousel
x RV load diverter
x Sample pipettor
x R1 pipettor and R2 pipettor
x Reagent carousels
x STAT diverter and pipettor
x Vortexer 1, vortexer 2, vortexer 3 and STAT vortexer
x Wash zone diverter
x Wash zone 1 and wash zone 2
x Pre-trigger dispense
x Shutter, trigger dispense and optical read devices
x Waste aspiration arm and the unload diverter

Screen 4
To better understand the function of each robotics device used in the process
path, let us first examine the various devices that are used to control the robotics.

Within the card cage, three types of boards are used to control various robotics
devices including:

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 x The indexer boards
x Motor driver boards
x and the DC driver input/output board

Screen 5
The indexer board is used as the controller for the motors. Each indexer board is
comprised of a microprocessor and support electronics on a multi-layer printed
circuit board. The microprocessor supports eight motor drive functions
concurrently. The indexer outputs signals for each motor controlled: a step pulse,
a direction, and a power level.

The board also has the ability to monitor the relative position of motors by
monitoring the status of home sensors attached to robotic devices. For devices
driven by motors with an encoder, the indexer can track the position of the motor
within the resolution of the motor encoder.

The indexer boards are mounted in the card cage where they communicate with
the controller, driver and other boards. There are four indexer boards used to
control the process module devices and depending on the type there can be
either one or two to control the sample handler, each of which is distinctly
addressed by jumpers on the board. The new indexer boards do not require
jumpers.

Screen 6
The motor driver boards receive motor control commands from the Indexer
boards and provide the power to move motors in the instrument. The motor driver
boards have the ability to provide high voltage and current drivers to move up to
eight stepper motors. The motor drive circuits are labeled to correspond with the
indexer boards. There are four boards for driving processing module motors and
depending on the type of sample handler installed there can be either one or two
boards to control sample handler motors.

Screen 7
The DC driver input output board contains circuitry to engage the system
diverters, or solenoids, fluid valves and vacuum valves. The board also has the
ability to control the DC motors used in vortexers and pumps.

Screen 8
There are several components that are integral to the functioning of the robotics
devices including

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 x The stepper motors
x The stepper motors with encoders
x Solenoids
x DC motors
x And sensor boards

Screen 9
The system makes use of stepper motors to move robotic devices. Stepper
motors are essentially two magnets attracting each other. The motor is
comprised of a stator and a rotor. The stator is an electromagnet contained within
the motor housing and the rotor is a set of permanent magnets attached to the
center rotational shaft. One full revolution of the motor is equal to 200 steps.

Screen 10
Encoders are metal discs mounted to the shaft of a motor. Each metal disc
contains slits through which light from a led pass to a photodetector. As the
motor moves and the disk turns, the slits move in front of the detector and a
pulse is generated for a detection of light. The disk is sized to provide one slit for
each motor step. To compensate with the motor settling, and moving forward and
backward as it stops, a second set of slits is used; this is referred to as
quadrature encoding. The second set of slits is offset so that the edge of the slit
in one row is exactly in the middle of the slit in the other row. This allows forward
and backward motion to be discerned and provide revolution resolution of 1600
counts. Motors with encoders are used to drive the reagent carousels and
process path.

Screen 11
Solenoids are used to control the flow of fluid, vacuum, and the direction of
mechanical devices. A solenoid is a device containing a coil of wire that moves a
plunger when energized. This plunger can be used to open or close a valve
allowing fluid or vacuum to flow. The solenoid plunger can also be used to either
pull or push a mechanical device. This mechanical device can then be used to
control the directional movement of another device. For example when activated,
the RV Load Diverter will pull a clean RV from the inner process track to the
outer.

Screen 12
The system DC motors are used to agitate, or vortex, the contents of the RV and
transfer buffer to and from the buffer reservoir.

Screen 13

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Each sensor board is a stand-alone board designed to decode and transmit
optical flag signals from mechanical assemblies. The sensor boards are mounted
as close to the appropriate mechanism as possible. The output signals of the
boards are routed to the appropriate indexer, CMIA optics, or controller board.
There are 16 different sensor board designs used within the system.

Screen 14
The iSystem hardware incorporates a process path that provides a suitable light-
tight and 37 degree temperature controlled environment for the processing of
Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay, or CMIA, reactions. The Process
Path carousel assembly is designed to move reaction vessels, also know as
RVs, within two tracks.

In the following screens we will address each of the sub-assemblies and their
functionality at individual stations, but before we begin, please familiarize yourself
with each of the sub-assemblies and stations by placing the cursor over each
one.

Screen 15
The function of the process path carousel is to move 112 RVs along the inner
and outer process tracks. The RVs are moved one position every 18 seconds by
a stepper motor located at the carousel’s 12 o’clock position. During its
movement, the carousel position is tracked by its home sensor and an encoder
mounted to the top of the drive motor. To support sample analysis processing,
RVs are moved from the inner clean track to the outer track where they are
accessed by other robotic devices.

Screen 16
The RV loader subsystem consist of the hopper, RV loader wheel, RV loader
transport and various sensors. The reaction vessel, or RV, Loader provides
onboard storage for the RVs, and inserts the RVs into the process path inner
lane.

RVs are loaded from a bag into the hopper located at the front right corner of the
process area, and oriented. Next the RVs are dropped onto the RV transport.
While on the transport, the RVs are held until an empty position is detected in the
inner process path lane. The RV loader transport is then indexed and an RV is
dropped into the inner lane. After loading, the RV loader orientation wheel is
indexed and a new RV is loaded onto the transport.

Pop-Up Graphic:
This diagram illustrates the indexer board and motor driver board that control the
motors and sensors of the RV loader.

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Screen 17
During a run, at position number 1, a RV is diverted from the inner lane to the
outer processing lane by the load diverter.

Screen 18
The sample pipettor aspirates the required amount of sample from a vessel on
the sample handler and dispenses the fluid into the RV at position 1. For assays
requiring a pretreatment step, fluid is aspirated from process path position 24 and
dispensed into position 1.

The arm provides a mounting base for the probe, tubing, LLS cable, and Z limit
crash sensor. During normal aspiration operations, the arm positions the probe
over a vessel of fluid. As the pipettor lowers the probe, the 100 kilohertz
frequency transmitted from the probe is received by the LLS antenna. When the
probe contacts fluid, the signal received by the antenna increases abruptly. The
change in amplitude and rate of change are then analyzed to determine if fluid
has been contacted. Once fluid is contacted, the downward movement along the
Z axis of the pipettor stops. The pipettor then moves down and through the fluid
surface to the desired “in-depth”. During aspiration, as the syringe draws fluid
from the vessel, the pipettor Z axis moves the probe down to keep it at the
desired depth.

The sample antennas are located at the Sample Handler and under the process
path position 24.

Screen 19
The R1 pipettor aspirates reagent from one or more reagent carousel positions
located in the center of the process path. After aspirating the reagent using the
same process as the sample pipettor, the fluid is then dispensed into the RV
position 2.

To prevent signal interference, the R1 probe transmits at 150 kilohertz and

detects fluid using the antennas under the reagent carousel.

The R1 pipettor antennae are located under the reagent carousels and process
carousel position 2

The probe is mounted to the pipettor on a plastic boom arm. The boom arm can
either be a short arm used on a STAT pipettor or the long arm used on the R1,
R2 or sample pipettor. This allows one pipettor assembly to be used in all
locations.

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Screen 20
At Position 3, the contents of the RV are mixed by vortexer 1.

Pop-up Graphic:
This schematic diagram shows the controller boards and sensors that drive the
motors of the Vortexer.

Screen 21
The reagent carousel provides onboard storage for up to seventy-five reagent
bottles located on two concentric rotatable carousels: outer and inner. The outer
carousel has two rings – called the outer and middle ring; the inner carousel has
one ring. Each ring can hold twenty-five reagent bottles. The assay reagents
are packaged in color-coded bottles. As the reagents are loaded, they are placed
in the appropriate color-coded ring as shown. The microparticle reagents are
placed into the middle dispersion ring. To ensure they are properly mixed, the
carousel twists the bottles back and forth.

A self-contained cooling system provides temperature control within the area

around the reagent carousels. This assures stability for on-board reagents. The
carousels are located under a cover that helps maintain the reagents in a
temperature controlled environment and provide reagent access for reagent
probes 1 and 2. The cover also prevents the operator access to reagents when
the module is in the running state. A cover sensor allows the module to monitor
whether the cover is open or closed. A temperature sensor located within the
carousel’s area allows the module to monitor temperature and control the
temperature with a range of 2 to 12 degrees centigrade.

A bar code reader, located at the center of the carousels, is used for identifying
reagents. The bar code reader is located at a fixed axis and any ring position
can be positioned in front of it for identification.

Screen 22
The STAT pipettor is only used for STAT assays on the i2000SR™. At position
47, a clean RV is moved from the inner track to the outer process track by the
STAT diverter. Fluid is then aspirated and dispensed by the STAT Pipettor.
Since the sample and STAT pipettor never aspirate at the same time, both
probes transmit a 100 kilohertz signal.

The STAT LLS antenna is located at the sample handler.

Screen 23
Position 48 and is used for STAT assays only on the i2000SR™. The R2 pipettor
aspirates either buffer or reagent from the reagent carousel and dispenses the

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fluid into the RV at position 48 using the same process as that described for the
sample pipettor.

To prevent signal interference, the R2 probe transmits at 125 kilohertz and

detects fluid using the antennas under the reagent carousel and process path.
On the i2000SR™, a antenna is located at position 48 and is used for RV
aspirations at that location.

Screen 24
For the i2000SR™, at position 49 STAT assay RVs are mixed by the STAT
vortexer.

Pop-up Graphic:
This schematic diagram shows the controller boards and sensors that drive the
motors of the vortexer.

Screen 25
The wash zone diverter is used for One-Step assays only. Around wash zone 1
the process path widens. At Position 62, the wash zone diverter moves the RV
within the outer lane to bypass washing performed by wash zone 1.

Screen 26
At Positions 64 to 67 the contents of the RV are washed at Wash Zone 1.
At the first position of the wash zone, the microparticles are held in the RV by a
permanent magnet placed on the outer edge of the process carousel and can not
be seen in this view. This process is called magnetic separation. While the
particles are held, 400 microliter of temperature controlled buffer is dispensed
into the RV by valve 1.

At the second position, the microparticles are again held by the magnet. The first
wash zone probe is lowered into the RV and vacuum is used to aspirate the fluid.
The quality of the aspiration is determined by measuring the temperature of the
fluid. As the fluid is emptied, the temperature will change. 1 milliliter of warm
buffer is again dispensed into the RV by valve 2. The fluid is then again aspirated
and checked. 1 milliliter of warm buffer is dispensed.

At the third station, the magnetic separation, aspiration, quality check, and buffer
dispense process above is repeated using the second probe and valve 3.

At the last station, the magnetic separation, and aspiration is repeated. However,
the temperature data is not monitored by the software.

Screen 27

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For two-step assays, the R2 pipettor aspirates either reagent or buffer and
dispenses the fluid into the RV at position 71 using the same process as that
described for the sample pipettor.

To prevent signal interference, the R2 probe transmits at 125 kilohertz and

detects fluid using the antennas under the reagent carousel and process path.
The R2 pipettor has antennae at the reagent carousels and for the i2000SR™
position 48.

Screen 28
At position 72, the contents of the RV are mixed by vortexer 2.

Pop-up Graphic Audio: 10.28.a.wav

This schematic diagram shows the controller boards and sensors that drive the
motors of the vortexer.

Screen 29
At Positions 87 to 90 the contents of the RV are washed at wash zone 2.

At the first position of the wash zone, the microparticles are held in the RV by a
permanent magnet placed on the inner edge of the process carousel and can not
be seen in this view. This process is called magnetic separation. While the
particles are held, 400 microliters of temperature controlled buffer is dispensed
into the RV by valve 1.

At the second position, the microparticles are again held by the magnet. The first
wash zone probe is lowered into the RV and vacuum is used to aspirate the fluid.
The quality of the aspiration is determined by measuring the temperature of the
fluid. As the fluid is emptied, the temperature will change. One milliliter of warm
buffer is again dispensed into the RV by valve 2. The fluid is then again aspirated
and checked. 1 milliliter of warm buffer is dispensed.

At the third position, the magnetic separation, aspiration, quality check, and
buffer dispense process above is repeated using the second probe and valve 3.
At the last position, the magnetic separation, and aspiration is repeated.
However, the temperature data is not monitored.

Screen 30
At position 94, pre-trigger solution is dispensed into the RV. The solution is then
mixed by vortexer 3.

Pop-up Graphic:

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This schematic diagram shows the controller boards and sensors that drive the
motors of the vortexer.

Screen 31
At Position 98, the read magnet holds magnetic particles and the shutter moves
up to block stray light. The trigger solution is then dispensed and the optical
reader measures the amount of chemiluminescent emission.

Screen 32
At position 100, the fluid in the RV is aspirated by a probe attached to an arm
attached to the wash zone 2 assembly.

Screen 33
At position 109, the RV is removed from the processing lane and ejected to the
solid waste by the unload diverter.

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