Microinjection is a widely used technique for transgenesis, mutagenesis, cell labeling, cryopreservation, and in vitro fertilization in multiple single and multicellular organisms. Microinjection requires specialized skills acquired for each target organism and involves rate limiting and labor-intensive preparatory steps. Here we constructed a machine vision (MV) guided generalized robot that fully automates the process of microinjection in fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. The robot uses machine learning (ML) models trained to detect individual embryos in images of agar plates, and models trained to identify specific anatomical locations within each embryo in 3D space using dual view microscopes. The robot uses this information to serially perform microinjection in each detected embryo without any human intervention. We constructed and used three such robots to automatically microinject tens of thousands of Drosophila and zebrafish embryos. We systematically optimized robotic microinjection for each species and validated the use of the robot by performing routine transgenesis with proficiency comparable to highly skilled human practitioners while achieving up to 4x increases in microinjection throughput in Drosophila. The automated microinjection robot was utilized to microinject pools of over 20,000 uniquely barcoded plasmids into 1,713 embryos in two days to rapidly generate more than 400 unique transgenic Drosophila lines. This high throughput microinjection experiment enabled a novel measurement of the number of independent germline integration events per successfully injected embryo. Finally, we showed that robotic microinjection of cryoprotective agents in zebrafish embryos significantly improves vitrification rates and survival of cryopreserved embryos post-thaw as compared to manual microinjection, opening the tantalizing possibility of large-scale cryobanking of aquatic species at an industrial scale. We anticipate that this versatile automated microinjection system can be applied to carry out microinjection for genome-wide manipulation and cryopreservation at scale in a wide range of other organisms.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown that frequently-touched surfaces that are contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 can pose a risk to public health and safety. Considering elevators as a high-risk environment for the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases via surface transmission, common methods of manually applying liquid-form disinfectants are impractical for sanitizing the elevator panel after each use. Therefore, an automated UVC light surface sanitization device with integrated sensing components to avoid UVC light-human interaction and perform frequent sanitization was developed. Algorithmically, the system uses a motion sensor, an inertial measurement unit, and a door sensor to determine when the elevator is empty, stationary, and shut. Once these conditions are met, the UVC lamp is enabled to safely sanitize the elevator control panel. The device’s UVC irradiation capabilities were tested by applying UVC light to a mock control panel. A minimum power density of 0.31 mW/cm² was detected, which can deactivate SARS-CoV-2. The sensing and control system was tested in an elevator and it was demonstrated to be able to detect operating conditions and activate the UVC light at appropriate instances. Our device operates using inexpensive hardware and it can be easily integrated into existing elevator infrastructures.
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