Automated Microinjection System

Microinjection is a process of using a small glass micropipette to inject substances at a microscopic or macroscopic level, and it is used in a number of processes. It is done manually, however, which makes it tedious and time-consuming, and which creates a bottleneck.

PhD student Amey Joshi, who is working in the group of Assistant Professor Suhasa Kondandaramaiah in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is working on a project to automate the microinjection process. The group has developed a computer-guided robot and are using it to microinject Drosophila melanogaster embryos. The robot has a multicamera system, and uses machine learning, computer vision, and various morphological algorithms to detect its location and anatomical features. The robot will eventually be used for other organisms, as well.

Some funding for this project was provided by a 2021 University of Minnesota Informatics Institute MnDRIVE PhD Graduate Assistantship. The UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship program supports UMN PhD candidates pursuing research at the intersection of informatics and any of the five MnDRIVE areas:

  • Robotics, Sensors and Advanced Manufacturing
  • Global Food Ventures
  • Advancing Industry, Conserving Our Environment
  • Discoveries and Treatments for Brain Conditions
  • Cancer Clinical Trials

This project is part of the Robotics, Sensors and Advanced Manufacturing MnDRIVE area.

Research Computing partners:

  • University of Minnesota Informatics Institute

 

monitor showing injection into a cell