Patent ID: 8293526

Claim:
A method for selecting transformed animal cell colonies with altered phenotype using an apparatus comprising machine vision and image processing, the method comprising: a) placing a sample container including a plurality of transformed and non-transformed animal cell colonies held in a medium onto the apparatus; b) identifying transformed animal cell colony locations in the sample container using machine vision and image processing based on the morphological appearance of the transformed cell colonies; c) selecting one or more of the transformed animal cell colonies; d) providing a picking head comprising at least one hollow pin, the picking head being movable over the apparatus using positioning motors; e) aligning the picking head with the sample container; f) picking one of the selected animal cell colonies by aligning one of the at least one hollow pins with one of the animal cell colony locations, introducing a distal end of said hollow pin into the medium, and aspirating the animal cell colony at that location into said hollow pin, wherein said animal cell colony to be picked has a size smaller than an inside diameter of said hollow pin; g) placing a dispensing container onto the apparatus; and h) dispensing the picked transformed animal cell colony by aligning the picking head with the dispensing container and expelling the picked transformed animal cell colony into the dispensing container.