University College Dublin of Dublin, Ireland, has received US Patent No. 8,116,551, "Method and system for image analysis." A method for determining the level of expression of objects of interest using an automated image analysis system is claimed. The system is capable of assimilating the patterns of positively stained objects of interest, such as cells, and then using the detected patterns to segment the negative stained cells into relevant and irrelevant groups. The irrelevant group can then be eliminated from the analysis. The inventors recommend the method for assessing expression levels in patients' samples using tissue microarrays.
Nanostorage of Seoul, Korea, has received US Patent No. 8,119,391, "Biochip analysis system." A device is described that is capable of analyzing and reading biochips in a rotating manner, such as a biochip that is mounted on an optical disc. The device includes a cartridge shaped as a disc, where a biochip is installed on or within the disc; a disc rotation drive unit; a light reception means for receiving a beam reflected from the disc; an optical pick-up device capable of receiving the light and outputting a bio-analysis signal; and a unit for processing and analyzing the bio-analysis signal.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation of Madison, Wis., has received US Patent No. 8,119,572, "Methods for determining protein binding specificity using peptide libraries." The method includes contacting a combinatorial library with a protein to allow binding of the protein to the library, where the library consists of covalently modified peptides attached to solid phase supports; detecting the protein bound to the covalently modified peptides using a label; and determining the binding specificity of the protein for the covalently modified peptides. According to the patent, the solid phase supports can be a microarray, microplate, or chip.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received US Patent No. 8,119,788, "Compositions and methods for the detection of Candida species." The methods involve screening a sample suspected of containing at least one or more Candida species for the presence or absence of a nucleic acid sequence specific for each such fungal pathogen. Some methods permit the detection and identification of up to 100 fungal pathogens in a single sample. An array for screening a sample for the presence of or contamination by one or more fungi is also claimed. This array contains nucleic acid probes that are specific for a portion of a genomic sequence of a fungus and a substrate.
Royal Phillips Electronics of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has received US Patent No. 8,120,002, "Multi-color biosensor for detecting luminescence sites on a substrate having a refractive optical element for adjusting and focusing at least two incident irradiation beams of different wavelengths." The detection system includes a unit for generating an irradiation beam for exciting luminescence sites on the substrate; a refractive element adapted for receiving beams of different wavelengths or wavelength ranges; and an optical compensator for adjusting beams of different wavelengths or wavelength ranges to reduce or compensate for optical aberrations.
HistoRx of Branford, Conn., has received US Patent No. 8,120,768, "Method and system for standardizing microscope instruments." The described process includes a calibration procedure where an image of a calibration slide is obtained through the optics of the microscope system. The calibration slide produces a standard response that can be used to determine a machine intrinsic factor for the particular system. The machine intrinsic factor can be stored for later reference. In use, images are acquired of a target sample and of the excitation light source. The excitation light source sample is obtained using a calibration instrument configured to sample intensity. The calibration instrument has an associated correction factor to compensate its performance to a universally standardized calibration instrument. The machine intrinsic factor, sampled intensity, and calibration instrument correction factor are used to compensate a quantitative measurement of the target sample in order to normalize the results for comparison with other microscope systems. The invention finds use in the imaging of tissue microarrays.
HistoRx has also received US Patent No. 8,121,365, "Method and system for determining an optimal dilution of a reagent." Dilution sets are received, where each set consists of a different dilution value and immunoassay-staining intensity values. A dynamic range metric is determined for each of the sets relative to the staining intensity values. Having identified this metric, a set having the optimal dynamic range metric is selected and the value of that set is selected as being representative of an optimal dilution level of the reagent for use in a quantitative immunoassay.