Patent ID: 8293525

Claim:
A method for selecting animal cell colonies with an altered phenotype induced by RNAi using an apparatus comprising machine vision and image processing, the method comprising: a) placing a sample container including a plurality of animal cell colonies comprising RNAi held in a medium onto the apparatus; b) identifying locations of animal cell colonies in the sample container by their altered phenotype using the machine vision and image processing; c) selecting one or more of the animal cell colonies based on their altered phenotype; 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 animal cell colony by aligning the picking head with the dispensing container and expelling the picked animal cell colony into the dispensing container.