Autonomous operating process for zebrafish embryo injection

Abstract

Embryo injection is a significant technique in molecule biology and drug discovery for zebrafish, one of the most popular model organisms. Traditional zebrafish embyo injection is manually conducted under microscope, requiring challenging coordination of hand, eye and foot and their respective precise control as well as ceaseless labour. An autonomous operating process for zebrafish embryo injection is proposed in this paper. Based on a micromanipulation robot system, the operating process integrates computer vision and micromanipulation robot control to realize batch embryo injection automatically. Successful rate of 93% and survival ratio of 89.5% at operating speed of 6-7 embryos are obtained, verifying the feasibility and effectiveness of the process. Finally, the process is applied to investigate the toxicity of a dye and receives success.