OPTICAL ANALYSIS DISC AND RELATED DRIVE ASSEMBLY FOR PERFORMING INTERACTIVE CENTRIFUGATION

摘要

The present invention is a method and software for interactively centrifuging biological samples on bio-discs in computer disc drives. A bio-disc is a modified disc that can store laboratory samples. The software initializes the disc drive rotational speed and then monitors the response from the disc. The disc drive directs the laser at the disc and detects light that has interacted with laboratory samples on disc. This detection is used for recognition of the current state of the biological samples. One embodiment detects responses from the interrogation to adjust the rotational speed of the disc during the centrifugation process. The present invention takes advantage of existing speed control commands in constant linear velocity (CLV) and constant angular velocity (CAV) drives to achieve a wide range of rotational speeds. Another embodiment of the invention includes agitation of the disc which facilitates the separation of the biological samples.