Methods and systems allow characterization of sample vessels and carriers in an automation system to determine any physical deviation from nominal positions. In response, an offset can be calculated and applied when positioning a carrier relative to a station, such as a testing or processing stations (or vice-versa). This may allow for precise operation of an instrument with a sample vessel on an automation track, while compensating for deviation in manufacturing and other tolerances.

Provided are an automatic tissue staining device and an automatic tissue staining method capable of advancing treatments according to precise treatment times without a hitch. The automatic tissue staining device includes a supply head that supplies a treatment fluid, a horizontal direction movement unit that moves the supply head in a horizontal direction, and a holding unit that holds a plurality of glass slides on which samples are set. The automatic tissue staining device further includes a control unit that judges occupancy status of the horizontal direction movement unit in a condition that one or more of the glass slides are situated in a first region prior to supplying the treatment fluid from the supply head to one or more samples on the one or more glass slides situated in the first region, suspends a start of a treatment for the samples on the one or more glass slides situated in the first region when the horizontal direction movement unit is occupied, and permits the treatment for the samples on the one or more glass slides situated in the first region when the horizontal direction movement unit is not occupied.

An automatic analyzer having no limitation on a range of a placeable position on a sample placement disk for patient specimens, emergency specimens, quality control samples, and calibration samples, and being capable of performing analysis while changing the number of simultaneously-measurable samples for each type of each specimen is provided. In the automatic analyzer, either a calibration sample dedicated disk or a patient specimen dedicated disk is placed in an analyzing unit 8 as a sample placement disk 19, and the analyzing unit 8 has a disk identifying unit 24 which identifies a type of the sample placement disk 19, and a computer 22 identifies the type of the sample placement disk 19 based on an identification result of the disk identifying unit 24, and performs analysis on a liquid sample based on the identified type of the sample placement disk 19.

An improved calibration process for a medical testing machine. The machine automatically recognizes that a package of calibration material has been inserted into it, and performs a calibration sequence to ascertain a calibration parameter to be used in performing future tests with the medical testing machine. The calibration package may include machine-readable indicators that the package is to be used for calibration, and of a calibration setpoint of a calibration material in the package. A calibration material may be stored in a lyophilized state in the package, and the medical testing machine may automatically reconstitute the lyophilized material.

A specimen treating and measuring system according to the present invention comprises: a treatment part having a plurality of lanes for carrying out parallel processing of a plurality of specimens, and mounting cartridges in each of the plurality of lanes; a cartridge storing unit storing a plurality of types of cartridge to be used for different processes corresponding to the plurality of specimens; a sample storing unit storing and conveying sample tubes containing the plurality of specimens; a pickup unit transferring each of the plurality of types of cartridge to each lane, and transferring each of the plurality of specimens from the sample tubes to each of the plurality of lanes; and a control unit controlling the transfer of the plurality of types of cartridge and the transfer of the plurality of specimens, performed by the pickup unit.

The present invention comprises: an incubator disk 22 upon which a plurality of reaction containers holding a reaction solution being an analyte and a reagent that have been mixed and reacted are mounted; a immunoassay unit 23 that measures the physical properties of the reaction solution; and a planning unit 103 that determines the order for measurement of analyte requested to be executed by the immunoassay unit 23. Measurement by the immunoassay unit 23 includes items having different measurement times. When measurement of sequence items having the longest measurement time will occur at least a prescribed number of times in a row, said prescribed number being at least two, the planning unit 103 provides at least one empty cycle after measurement has occurred at least the prescribed number of times.

An automatic analyzer with high processing capacity is capable of immediately measuring an emergency specimen rack. The automatic analyzer includes a conveying line for conveying a specimen rack, and an analysis unit which has a dispensing line in which a plurality of specimen racks are arranged for waiting until sample dispensing, and a sampling area for dispensing the sample to the analysis unit. A rack save area is provided in the dispensing line and at a position adjacent to the upstream side of the sampling area. When a specimen rack exists in the sampling area at the time of measuring an emergency specimen rack, a controller moves the specimen rack to the save area and positions the emergency specimen rack to be moved from a downstream side of the sampling area to the sampling area.

A biological analysis system comprising at least one inlet and one outlet, at least two biological analysis devices connected to one another by a conveyor defining a closed circuit, each biological analysis device comprising a region for the exchange of tube holding racks with the conveyor. The conveyor and the at least one inlet of the biological analysis system comprise a reader of an identifier of a tube holding rack which reader is designed to communicate an identifier it has read to a controller of the biological analysis system, which controller is designed to apply a specific treatment to a tube holding rack identified by the reader of the conveyor and the identifier of which has not previously been read by the reader of the at least one inlet of the biological analysis system.

The present invention is provided with: an automatic analysis device 200 for performing an analysis process to analyze a specimen that is to be analyzed; a specimen pre-processing module 100 for performing pre-processing to cause the specimen to enter a state in which the analysis process can be performed; a main conveyance line 161 for conveying a specimen container carrier 10 which accommodates the specimen that is to be analyzed and in which at least one specimen container can be mounted; and annular conveyance lines 111, 121, 131, 141, 151, 411 that are disposed adjacent to the main conveyance line 161 and that are moreover disposed so as to be capable of transferring the specimen container carrier 10 to and from the main conveyance line 161, the annular conveyance lines 111, 121, 131, 141, 151, 411 being capable of circulating and conveying the specimen container carrier 10 separately without the use of another conveyance line (e.g., a return line 162). This makes it possible to maintain flexibility in conveyance of specimens while suppressing increases in device surface area.

A transport device transports a container used in a sample measurement device or a rack housing the container. The transport device may include: a robotic arm configured to transport the container or the rack between a first sample measurement device and each of other sample measurement devices different from the first sample measurement device; and a controller that controls operation of the robotic arm.