Patent Abstract:
Imaging apparatus which images the changes in height of reactive spots on the surface of a slide requires the surface roughness of the slide to be small enough to distinguish the changes in height from the roughness features of the slide.

Full Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 09/614,503 filed on 7 Jul. 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,011 the content of which is incorporated by reference herein. This application is based in part on Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 09/614,503 filed on 27 Oct. 2000 the content of which is incorporated by reference herein. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to imaging techniques in conjunction with total internal reflection at the boundary of an optically transparent material and more particularly to the use of such techniques for detecting the presence, composition, quantity, and spatial distribution of substances on optically transparent substrates. 
   This invention relates to a biochip (also referred to as gene chip, protein chip, microarray and others) useful in applications of the ans caused the local polarization change detected in the respective parts of the emerging light beam. U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,724 to Ring, et al. (1997) describes the readout of a biochemical array using the evanescent field. This patent focuses on fluorescent assays, using the evanescent field to excite fluorescent markers attached to the substances to be detected and analyzed. The attachment of fluorescent markers or other molecular tags to the substances to be detected on the surface requires an additional step in performing the measurement, which is not required in the current invention. The patent further describes use of a resonant cavity to provide on an evanescent field for exciting analytes. 
   The formation of an array of biologically active spots on the surface of a substrate for identifying constituents in test material brought into contact with the array is well known. Typically, such processes require spots of, for example, oligonucleotides, DNA clones, antibodies, peptides, receptors, enzymes, inhibitors, etc. which are processed to exhibit fluorescence, electroluminescence, current change, voltage change—etc. for providing a detectable signature for the presence of constituents in the material being tested. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the principles of this invention, light from a light source member providing an extended, polarized light beam is directed through a transparent substrate and undergoes total internal reflection at the surface of the substrate by a single reflection within the TIR member. The reflected light is detected by a polarization-sensitive, two-dimensional array detector. The changes of the local polarization state in the beam&#39;s cross-section caused by the total internal reflection are employed to obtain information about the presence and composition in an array of substances on the substrate surface for each point of the surface. Total internal reflection is described in; M. Born, et al., “Principles of Optics”, 6th ed., pp 47–51, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1991. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the light generating element within the light source member is a quasi-monochromatic light source of moderate bandwidth. In a preferred embodiment, the light-generating element within the light source member is an LED of moderate bandwidth. The light from the light source member is directed through an internal reflection member to reflect off a specimen. The total internal reflection at any point within the cross-section of the light beam causes a phase shift between the light component polarized in the plane of incidence and the component polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence. The reflected light is detected by a polarization-sensitive, two dimensional array detector and the signal from this detector is then processed in a computer to provide two-dimensional information about substances on the surface of the specimen. Spatially distributed changes in polarization state in the cross-section of the reflected beam are indicative of the substances in the specimen in the location in the specimen array corresponding to a position in the detector. The apparatus and method is especially adapted for imaging material in an aqueous solution. It is furthermore particularly suited for detecting attachment and detachment of analytes to a two-dimensional biomolecular array positioned on the total internal reflection member as part of a biosensor system. In various applications a plurality of discrete specimen spots are presented in an array, where the method and apparatus will image the array so as to distinguish each of the discrete specimen spots by an image which represents the change in polarization state within each of the discrete specimen spots. Fluorescence or molecular tagging is not necessary nor practical for use in this invention. 
   Further, in accordance with the principles of this invention, the apparatus disclosed in the above-identified parent application provides an image of an entire array on a biochip or if desired a portion of the entire array. 
   The biochip slides used in accordance with the principles of this invention must have a roughness low enough to permit separate resolution of all of the spots on the array being imaged. The apparatus disclosed allows imaging at a level of greater precision such that, a lower degree of roughness on the surface of the biochip slide is required in order to make available the more precise information. 
   The image information comprises height and surface coverage information of the interaction which occurs, for example, between DNA or mRNA, the oligonucleotides deposited at each location in the biochip array and the constituent in the test material flowed over the biochip array. The height of such molecules as are found in bio-arrays can be as much as 300 Å–500 Å. Some biomolecules will have a height of lesser dimension. Consequently, the surface of the substrate on which the spots are located has to have a roughness of less than about 300 Å in the measured area in order to avoid obscuration of the height information. Such precision is about equal to that of polished silicon wafers which cannot be used in the apparatus disclosed herein because silicon is not transparent. Roughness is a known unit of measure which is defined in Optical Society of America Handbook of Optics, Second Edition, volume 1, section 41.10. 
   Slides with such roughness characteristics used with the apparatus herein for biological testing are considered a significant departure from the prior art. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of alternative portions of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of alternative portions of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of alternative portions of the invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic projection view of a biochip useful in the apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the slide of  FIG. 2  showing a representative spot. 
       FIG. 8  is an hypochetrial enlarged view of a biochip of the prior art representing the surface roughness of the slide and biomolecules; and 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged schematic side view of a biochip slide having reduced roughness in accordance with the principles of the invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic representation of a jig for holding the slide of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 11  is a computer printout of an area plot of spots of a microarray. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   The invention comprises a method and apparatus for analyzing a two-dimensional arrangement of chemical substances with an imaging technique. A polarized light source of known polarization state is directed into a total internal reflection member (TIR member) configured for a single reflection at a total internal reflection surface (TIR surface) and then exiting the TIR member. In the context of this document, superposition of reflections as encountered at a layered optical structure where the layer thicknesses are smaller than the coherence length of the illuminating light is referred to as a single reflection. The chemical specimen is in place above the TIR surface in the evanescent field of the reflected light beam. After reflection, the beam is passed to a polarization-sensitive two-dimensional detector such as a polarizer and a camera. The beam&#39;s content can then be processed to determine the change in polarization state, locally in the two-dimensional cross-section of the beam. This provides a spatially distributed map of change of polarization state in the specimen. A variety of techniques are available to determine the change in polarization such as measuring the deviation from a null condition or by comparing the input polarization state to the output polarization state. The refractive index composition of the materials within the evanescent field determines the change in the polarization state of the beam due to the reflection at the TIR surface. A two-dimensional variation of this composition within the TIR surface is associated with a respective variation of the polarization state spatially distributed across the cross-section of the reflected light beam. 
   In one application, the chemical specimen forms a two-dimensional array of molecules (here referred to as receptors) with specific affinities towards respective other molecules (here referred to as ligands). In this application, the invention is utilized to indicate the presence or absence of binding between ligands and receptors on the array. Such arrays commonly consist of a plurality of discrete specimen spots. The present method and apparatus will image the array so as to distinguish each of the discrete specimen spots represented by the local change in polarization state in the cross-section of the reflected beam. 
   Subject to limitations in resolving power of the detector, the invention permits measurement of thickness and/or refractive index composition of the specimen under investigation with a very high resolution, in the sub angstrom range, spatially resolved over an entire area. The invention is particularly useful in applications where the specimen is in an aqueous solution. In a particular application, the present invention is used to determine the presence of biological agents in a solution such as in immunosensor applications by measuring their attachment to antibodies on the TIR surface in the evanescent field. In another application, the present invention is used to determine the presence and structure of nucleic acid sequences in a solution by measuring their attachment to other nucleic acid sequences on the TIR surface in the evanescent field. Described in more detail below are different embodiments of the invention. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an apparatus and method is illustrated which implements one embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the apparatus  10  can be described conveniently as consisting of three general portions. Portion  12  is a polarized light source assembly, portion  14  is a total internal reflection assembly providing a single reflection and portion  16  is a polarization-sensitive two-dimensional array detector assembly. Data from the detector assembly  16  is sent by an electrical signal  24  to processor  18  such as a specially programmed computer and user access system such as a print-out or image display. Data can be presented as an image, a data table, or in other forms. The polarized light source assembly  12  passes polarized light of known polarization state (which may be varied or varying)  20  to the total internal reflection assembly  14  where a single reflection occurs and the reflected light  22  having a changed polarization state passes to the detector assembly  16 , where it is recorded spatially over the cross-section of the beam. The recorded data is sent to the processor  18  where the change of polarization state is determined to provide a spatially resolved map of changes in polarization state. Where the specimens are presented as an array of discrete spots, each spot will be imaged for its change in polarization state within the spot area. 
     FIG. 2  shows a more detailed preferred embodiment. The polarized light source assembly  12  has a light source  26 , a beam forming member  28  (if the nature of the light source is such as to make beam forming useful or necessary) a polarizer  30  and an optical retarder  32 . The total internal light reflection assembly  14  has an optical element  34  which has an optical surface  36 . Also shown is a specimen slide  38  on the optical surface  36 , and between them an index matching substance  40 . Because of the index matching a total internal reflection surface (TIR surface) is defined as the upper surface  39  of the specimen slide  38 . A specimen  42  is on the total internal reflection surface  39  of the slide  38 . The optical element  34  is a prism configured along with the index-matched slide  38  in relationship to the incoming light beam  20 , and the exiting light beam  22  such that the beam reflects only a single time at the TIR surface  39  and then exits the prism. If the specimen is placed directly on the optical surface  36 , then the optical surface  36  would be the TIR surface. But this is not the usual application as the specimen (such as a biochip) is usually prepared more conveniently on a specimen slide  38  and placed in the apparatus. In any event, however constructed, there is an optical structure having a TIR surface and the beam reflects only a single time at the TIR surface between entering and leaving the optical structure. In other words, there is a TIR surface in optical contact with the specimen, such that the evanescent field associated with the total internal reflection interacts with the specimen, and there is only a single reflection at that TIR surface. 
   The post reflection detector assembly  16  has a polarizer  44 , and a two-dimensional array detector  46 , preferably a camera of the CCD type. The processor  18  is a specially programmed computer and output means for processing the imagery into a representation of film thickness variations spatially resolved over the cross-section of the area imaged. The imaging is acquired by detecting changes spatially distributed in the local polarization state in the beam&#39;s cross-section caused by the total internal reflection. This provides information about the presence and composition in the array of substances on the substrate surface for each resolvable point on the surface. Different polarization state changes are included in the cross-section of the reflected beam indicative of the substances on the specimen in the location in the specimen array corresponding to a position in the detector. The processor  18  receives the data as an electrical signal  24  and characterizes the change of polarization state spatially over the two-dimensional array. In the processor  18 , the analysis and processing is done in one embodiment by comparing the known polarization state of the incoming light from the light processing assembly  12  with the changed polarization state of the reflected light  22 , spatially resolved two-dimensionally within the beam which provides a map of spatially distributed points or spots in the specimen array. The polarization shift is then analyzed by the processor  18  to provide information of the presence and properties of elements in the chemical specimen. Other known techniques, such as null processing can be used to determine the change in polarization state. 
   Alternatively, the light source member  26  may be an LED, an SLD (Super Luminescent Diode), an incandescent light source, or a laser. If an LED or SLD is used, the set-up shown in  FIG. 2  is appropriate, where the beam-forming member  28  is a collimator. If an incandescent light source is used, an optical filter is also used. 
   In one embodiment, the light source  26  for the apparatus is a quasi-monochromatic light source of moderate bandwidth. In accordance with the invention the light source  26  is preferably an LED of moderate bandwidth. Preferably the bandwidth is a full width half maximum wavelength in the range of about 10 nm–50 nm, and more preferably a full width half maximum wavelength in the range of about 30nm–50nm. 
   Referring to the optical retarder  32  as shown in  FIG. 2 , in an alternative embodiment, the optical retarder could be placed instead in the exiting beam path  22  before the polarizer  44 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , an alternative embodiment is shown. When the light source is a laser  50 , a moving diffuser  52  is adapted to produce speckle-offsetting fluctuation of the minima and maxima in the speckle pattern caused by the laser. The moving diffuser  52  is attached to a mechanical actuator  54  which is preferably a motor and servo-apparatus for providing the speckle offsetting fluctuations. The beam  20  then proceeds through the beam-forming element  28 , the polarizer  30  and the optical retarder  32 , exiting the light source assembly  20 . 
   The polarizer  30  employs a polarizer of selected known polarization state. The polarizer  30  may be of the type having a mechanical actuator driven by a motor control signal so as to enable varying and selecting the polarization state of the light beam  20 . 
   As mentioned above, the total internal reflection optical element  34  either alone or in combination with an index matched slide may be arranged for use with a specimen in various ways to define a total internal reflection assembly so long as the specimen is in the evanescent field of the reflected beam  20 , 22 . 
   As noted above, the specimen  42  could be set directly on the optical surface  36  in which case the optical surface  36  would be the TIR surface but this is inconvenient and repeated use is likely to degrade the optical quality of the optical surface  36 , and therefore, consistent with common practice in which a biochip or other chemical assay specimen is provided, a specimen slide  38  or other supporting apparatus is employed. It is common in a biochip to provide an array of discrete specimen spots supported on a structure for obtaining analysis of each spot. The term total internal reflection optical element refers to known optical elements alone or in combination with other elements which provide the phenomenon known as total internal reflection.  FIG. 2  shows use of a prism combined with a slide  38 , being index matched so that there is a TIR surface  39 . 
     FIG. 4  shows an alternative optical arrangement in which a flat optical member  56  having an upper surface  58  is surmounted by a specimen slide  60  and an index matching substance  62  on which is a specimen  64 . The TIR surface  66  is the top of the slide  60 . The beam  20  enters the assembly, is refracted as it enters, and leaves the optical member  56  after a single reflection at the TIR surface  66  as beam  22 . Other mechanisms for providing total internal reflection and an evanescent field can be employed in practicing this invention as long as only a single reflection occurs at the TIR surface upon which the specimen is placed so as to be in the evanescent field associated with the reflection. As seen in  FIG. 5 , the post-reflection processing arrangement  16  through which the beam  22  passes, can alternatively, consist of a polarizer member  70 , a beam forming member  72  and a two-dimensional array detector  74 . 
   The method and apparatus can be used in combination with biochips of the type having discrete specimen spots or a micro-titer plate containing an array of discrete spots or locations for analysis, where the detected change in polarization state is spatially related to the discrete locations in the reflected beam. Therefore, as used herein the slide and specimen refers to any type of chemical or biological array which is desired to be examined. 
   The foregoing described apparatus and methods are especially beneficial for imaging materials in an aqueous medium. 
   The invention as described above provides an extremely sensitive optical imaging system for real-time imaging of the binding status of biochip array elements on the surface of a glass or plastic chip. An exemplary monitored array spot is approximately 25 mm in diameter, with a lateral resolution better than 10 microns, resulting in fully parallel, continuous real-time readout of up to 5 million sensor fields. Sensor sensitivity to surface attachment is in the femtogram/mm 2  range (e.g. one DNA per square micron) and spatial resolution of 20 microns. 
   The apparatus of  FIG. 1  operates by imaging the pattern of reaction results on the biochip. Those reactions produce changes in the height of the resulting material which react at each spot, imaging an area of array containing numerous spots. The area imaged could be a portion or the entire biochip array. By providing an array of spots of different materials, different constituents in test material flowed over the spots bind in a manner which identifies those constituents. By including in a computer memory the positions of the various materials in the different spots of the array, the image produced by the apparatus of  FIG. 1  not only identifies the constituents in the test material, but also can determine the rate at which the reactions occur and the height of the resulting molecules at each spot. With the apparatus described height differences can be imaged dynamically over such short periods of time that intermediate height change readings can be recorded and therefore height change rate can be determined as well as allowing comparison of the rate of height change or intermediate amount of height change among the for spots on the biochip array. 
   In certain types of biochip analysis the height of molecules on the spots is on the order of 300 Å to 500 Å (Å=angstrom). Accordingly, the surface of a slide on which the spots are formed should have a maximum roughness of less than about 300 Å in the measured area in order to avoid the loss of information in the resulting image. This is particularly applicable to hybridization arrays of target nucleic acid and oligonucleotide arrays. For better imaging resolution, the slide roughness should be about 50% or less than the height of molecules on the spots. Roughness is a known unit of measure which is defined in Optical Society of America, Handbook of Optics, Second Edition, Volume I, section 41.10. 
   In certain applications it is desirable that the surface roughness be less than the change in height caused by the binding reaction.  FIG. 6  is a schematic projection view of a slide suitable for use in the apparatus of  FIG. 1-5 . The slide  110  has a top surface  112  on which an array of spots  114  is formed. 
     FIG. 7  is a side view of the slide of  FIG. 6  illustrating a representative spot  116 .  FIG. 8  is an enlarged portion of a slide of  FIG. 6  illustrating a plurality of spots after interaction in the context of an exaggerated surface roughness for the slide as in the prior art. The horizontal broken line  120  represents the maximum surface roughness as indicated by the opposing arrows  121  and  122 . It can be seen from the figure that the height of a reacted spot at  123  is exaggerated as compared to a reacted spot at  124  and at  125 . Similarly, unreacted spots at  126  and  127  distort the resulting image where they should provide an equal result. 
     FIG. 9  illustrates the point by showing the same interaction pattern where the surface roughness is less than a small portion of the height of the molecule produced by a reaction at each spot. Like numerals are used in  FIGS. 8 and 9  to facilitate comparisons between the two figures. 
   In practice, the slide of  FIG. 6  is positioned in a fixture  200  as shown in  FIG. 10 . The slide is inserted into the fixture by movement as indicated by the arrow  201 , into a position represented by horizontal dashed lines  202  and  204 . The slide is spaced apart from surface  36  of optical element  34  of  FIG. 1 . The spacing between surface  36  and the opposed bottom surface of the slide contains a fluid  206  of a matching index of refraction which, for all practical purposes, renders those surfaces invisible and providing for TIR only from the top surface  112  of the slide  10 . 
   The biochip of  FIG. 6  can include an array, for example, of 100,000 spots and those spots can be imaged simultaneously or in selected sub-arrays. Each spot has a diameter of from 50 microns to 500 microns where each spot comprises a biological element (i.e. oligonucleotides, cDNA clone, protein, antibody, antigen, bacteria, enzyme, inhibitor, receptor and others). Each spot has a known designation for, for example, genes for breast cancer, prostate cancer, aging and others,—(up to 80,000 genes). The biological elements must be substances that can be attached by various chemical and physical techniques to create a biochip. A full discussion of biochip fabrication is included in “Microarray Biochip Technology” by Mark Schena, a Biotechniques Books Publication, 2000. “DNA Microarrays: A Practical Approach” by Mark Schena, a Practical Approach Series, 2000. 
   The binding status of biological array elements (spots) on the surface of a (glass) slide or chip is obtained by the apparatus of  FIG. 1 . The slide monitoring area is approximately 25 mm in diameter with a lateral resolution better than 10 microns, resulting in fully parallel, continuous, real-time readout of up to five million sensor fields. System sensitivity to surface attachment is in the femtogram/mm 2  range. The apparatus and chip have application to DNA and protein chip scanning, high throughput screening, ligand fishing, immunosensors, clinical diagnostics and research, toxicology profiling, binding kinetics research, genomics and protemics. Particular features include; real-time imaging, no labels necessary, sensitivity of 1 fg/mm 2  (one DNA per square micron), partial resolution of 20 microns, and a sensor field of about 24 mm diameter. 
   The above described imaging apparatus was used to measure the thickness of protein layers deposited directly on the prism surface, which has a surface roughness of λ/10. Tests were performed by depositing small droplets (˜0.5 mm in area, 200 nl in volume) of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions directly on the sensor surface (the TIR surface). After the water was evaporated, only the protein remained on the surface leaving a well-defined quantity of protein at the test location. Table 1 lists the number of molecules per drop for each concentration, as well as an estimate of the effective layer thickness based on the area the droplet covered on the surface. The intensities as measured by a CCD camera detector for the surface was computer plotted as an area plot and is shown in  FIG. 11 . From this figure, it can be seen that with an increase in the concentration of protein the signal increases. The plot readily distinguishes each spot. Very small measurements were detected. In particular, a thickness change of as little as 10 fm was detected and was distinguished from background noise. Consequently, with such sensitivity, in order to be able to exploit the increased precision measurement available from the apparatus, the surface roughness of the support element of the microarray must be reduced. 
   
     
       
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
               TABLE 1 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
             
               BSA dilutions and molecular quantities in sample droplets 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               BSA 
               BSA 
                 
               Number of 
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               mass per 
               Molecules/ 
               Moles 
               Molecular 
               Effective 
               Protein 
             
             
               Concentration 
               drop 
               drop 
               per drop 
               Layers 
               Film thickness 
               coverage 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               10 mg/ml 
               2 μg 
               1.8 *10 13   
               30 pmol 
               1400 
               10 μm 
               4 μg/mm 2   
             
             
               1 mg/ml 
               200 ng 
               1.8 *10 12   
               3 pmol 
               140 
               1 μm 
               400 ng/mm 2   
             
             
               100 μg/ml 
               20 ng 
               1.8 *10 11   
               300 fmol 
               14 
               100 nm 
               40 ng/mm 2   
             
             
               10 μg/ml 
               2 ng 
               1.8 *10 10   
               30 fmol 
               1.4 
               10 nm 
               4 ng/mm 2   
             
             
               1 μg/ml 
               200 pg 
               1.8 *10 9   
               3 fmol 
               0.14 
               1 nm 
               400 pg/mm 2   
             
             
               100 ng/ml 
               20 pg 
               1.8 *10 8   
               300 amol 
               0.014 
               100 pm 
               40 pg/mm 2   
             
             
               10 ng/ml 
               2 pg 
               1.8 *10 7   
               30 amol 
               1.4*10 −3   
               10 pm 
               4 pg/mm 2   
             
             
               1 ng/ml 
               200 fg 
               1.8 *10 6   
               3 amol 
               1.4*10 −4   
               1 pm 
               400 fg/mm 2   
             
             
               100 pg/ml 
               20 fg 
               1.8 *10 5   
               0.3 amol 
               1.4*10 −5   
               100 fm 
               40 fg/mm 2   
             
             
               10 pg/ml 
               2 fg 
               1.8 *10 4   
               0.03 amol 
               1.4*10 −6   
               10 fm 
               4 fg/mm 2   
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   In the broadest sense, one aspect of invention is in a biochip having a slide whose surface, which is the TIR surface, is of sufficiently low roughness specification that an array of spots imaged by the apparatus can be individually resolved using the apparatus described above. 
   A process using the apparatus and a biochip of such sufficiently low roughness is:
     placing the biochip surface in a flow cell in combination with the apparatus such that the surface of the slide which has the spots is the TIR surface;   initially calibrating the apparatus such that light reflected from the biochip yields a fully-linear polarization;   adjusting the analyzer to a null position to fully block the linearly polarized light. flowing target molecules over the biochip surface.   

   When the null position is achieved, every region where the chip (slide) surface deviates from the initial state stands out as a bright spot whose intensity is directly related to the thickness (height) differences induced by the deviation. In this process target molecules will be flowed over the biochip surface. The intensity of the biochip may be continuously monitored across the array to study thickness changes that occur on the biochip. The relative intensity measured at the detector will be related to the sample parameters and the setting of the polarizing elements using computer programs based on a detailed “Jones calculus” sensor system description. With these programs theoretical plots will be fitted to the acquired measurement data sets, and the outputs&#39; dependence on parameter variations can be visualized. At the start of the procedure, the entire biochip is homogeneously dark. As the antibodies begin to bind to the reference probes the intensity along the surface increases. The intensity is expected to be the highest for high affinity interactions and mild changes are expected for low affinity interactions. The rate of intensity change can be related to the affinity constraints of the system. In a single procedure, the affinity measurements for multiple peptides can be performed. Moreover, the effect of binding density (because different concentrations of peptides are used in spotting) can also be measured. 
   What has been described is merely illustrative of the invention and many variations and modifications thereof can be devised by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention as encompassed by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8