A sample testing system comprising: a transporting apparatus; a testing apparatus for obtain a sample and performing testing on the obtained sample; and a controller. The controller executes operation of: controlling the transporting apparatus so as to transport the sample rack in first direction, such that each sample container held in a sample rack is transported to a obtaining position on which the testing apparatus obtains a sample and then the sample rack is transported toward the second position; changing, when retesting of a sample contained in a sample container is necessary, the transporting direction from the first direction to second direction, and then controlling the transporting apparatus so as to transport the sample container accommodating the sample, for which retesting is necessary, to the obtaining position again. Sample testing method and a computer program product are also disclosed.

A sample dilution method. The method comprises the following steps: moving from an initial workstation to a first workstation a ferrying unit bearing a first reactor containing a sample; distributing a diluent into the first reactor located at the first workstation; mixing the diluent and the sample in the first reactor to form a diluted sample; moving to a second workstation the ferrying unit bearing the first reactor containing the diluted sample, and distributing into at least two empty second reactors the diluted sample from the first reactor; moving to the first workstation the ferrying unit bearing all the second reactors containing a diluted sample, and distributing a reagent into the second reactors located at the first workstation; and mixing the reagent and the diluted sample in the second reactor.

A module for an automated biology laboratory system includes a housing and a storage device located within the housing. The storage device has a plurality of plate slots for receiving microplates or lab-ware with a microplate footprint or containers. The laboratory system further includes a transfer slot to transfer the microplates or containers between an inside of the module and an outside of the module; indexing means to facilitate alignment of the transfer slot with a microplate transfer interface comprising an aperture of the housing; and connection means for fixedly connecting the transfer interface of the module to a transfer interface of an adjacent module.

The present disclosure relates to a laboratory container storage system, a laboratory system comprising the laboratory container storage system, and a method of operating the laboratory system. The laboratory container storage system comprising one or more laboratory container storage devices. Each laboratory container storage device comprises a frame and a storage element comprising a holder configured to receive and release a laboratory container horizontally and to hold the laboratory container in a suspended position above a horizontal surface. The storage element is mounted movably on the frame and configured to be moved between a first transfer position and a storage position and between the storage position and a second transfer position. In the first and second transfer position, the holder is positioned to receive or release the laboratory container horizontally. The storage position is located between the first and second transfer position.

There is provided an electrolyte analyzer that can appropriately replace consumable items while more exerting analysis processing performances than a conventional electrolyte analyzer does. An electrolyte analyzer includes a plurality of analysis chambers 50 having ISE electrodes 1 configured to measure the concentration of the electrolyte of a sample and a controller 29 configured to control operations in the electrolyte analyzer 100 including the analysis chambers 50. The ISE electrodes 1 of the plurality of analysis chambers 50 analyze the same analysis items. The controller 29 selects an analysis chamber 50 used for measurement from the plurality of analysis chambers 50 corresponding to the remaining measurable numbers of a plurality of ISE electrodes 1 and measurement request status.

A sample testing system comprising: a transporting apparatus; a testing apparatus for obtain a sample and performing testing on the obtained sample; and a controller. The controller executes operation of: controlling the transporting apparatus so as to transport the sample rack in first direction, such that each sample container held in a sample rack is transported to a obtaining position on which the testing apparatus obtains a sample and then the sample rack is transported toward the second position; changing, when retesting of a sample contained in a sample container is necessary, the transporting direction from the first direction to second direction, and then controlling the transporting apparatus so as to transport the sample container accommodating the sample, for which retesting is necessary, to the obtaining position again. Sample testing method and a computer program product are also disclosed.

A sample feeding apparatus, a sample analyzing device, and a control method for a sample feeding apparatus are disclosed. At least two of a feeding unit, a temporary storage unit, and a recovery unit together form a vertical stack structure, and a dispatching manipulator transfers a sample vessel among the feeding unit, the temporary storage unit, the recovery unit, and a sample aspiration region. The space in a vertical direction can be reasonably utilized, superposition is performed in space to simplify the dispatching process, and the occupation of a horizontal space is reduced. As a result, the floor space is reduced, and the apparatus is further miniaturized.

A sample-processing system that improves total system processing efficiency, and reduces a sample-processing time, by establishing a functionally independent relationship between a rack conveyance block with rack supply, conveyance, and recovery functions, and a processing block with sample preprocessing, analysis, and other functions. A buffer unit with random accessibility to multiple racks standing by for processing is combined with each of multiple processing units to form a pair, and the system is constructed to load and unload racks into and from the buffer unit through the rack conveyance block so that one unprocessed rack is loaded into the buffer unit and then upon completion of process steps up to automatic retesting, unloaded from the buffer unit. Functional dependence between any processing unit and a conveyance unit is thus eliminated.

A method to store sample tubes in a laboratory storage and retrieval system is presented. The laboratory storage and retrieval system comprises a storage section, a database comprising a sample tube inventory of the storage section, a control device, and at least one sample tube transport system. The storage section comprises at least two storage subsections. In a first step of the method, the control device identifies at least two sample tubes with at least one substantially identical sample tube attribute and distributed over the at least two storage subsections. In a second step of the method, the at least one sample tube transport system consolidates the at least two sample tubes in at least one storage subsection, wherein the control device further determines in which of the at least two storage subsections the identified sample tubes are consolidated.

It is possible to realize a sample container transfer device capable of handling a plurality of racks in which a sample container can be efficiently transferred from a preprocessing system to a carrier used in an analysis system and can be transferred to a plurality of kinds of carriers of the analysis system. A plurality of kinds of racks A and racks B is held by an empty rack holding area 330. The racks A or the racks B can be used for conveyance of specimen containers according to the application of a specimen. After a fixed number of specimen containers separated by a separation mechanism 301 according to an application are collected by stoppers 303a and 303b, the specimen containers are conveyed to a transfer start position 309 to be transferred from a holder to a rack. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an occurrence of a state in which the rack does not have a part where no specimen is mounted.