A Computer-Vision-Guided Robot Arm for Automatically Placing Grids in Pioloform Film Preparation




Peurla Markus, Hänninen Pekka, Eskelinen Eeva-Liisa

PublisherM D P I AG

2019

Methods and Protocols

9

2

1

2409-9279

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3390/mps2010009(external)

https://doi.org/10.3390/mps2010009(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/40226644(external)



Preparing pioloform/formvar support films on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids is a routine laboratory procedure in practically all electron microscopy units. In current practice, these grids are manually placed on the support film one by one using special tweezers, a process requiring a steady hand. The work is often ergonomically awkward to continue for a longer period of time. In this article, we describe a low-cost, computer vision-guided robot arm that automatically places the grids on the film. The success rate of the prototype robot is 90%, which is comparable to an experienced laboratory technician.


Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 22:34