A wash system for use in an in vitro diagnostic immunoanalyzer utilizes a bridge having a linear track to move cuvettes from one incubation ring portion to another incubation ring portion. Washing stations along the linear track provide a magnetic field and fluid washing of cuvette contents independent of the size and motion of one or more incubation rings.

Automated test instruments electronically determine and/or obtain cell availability of cells of a holding structure in an incubated test chamber and for each of a plurality of open and available cells and electronically identify neighboring cells, electronically determining whether each of the identified neighboring cells are occupied or empty and, if occupied, electronically evaluating at least one of a test status or a time from load of a specimen container held therein. The instruments then electronically rank each of the plurality of open and available cells based at least in part on whether the identified neighboring cells are occupied or empty and the at least one of test status or time from load of the occupied cells of the identified neighboring cells. The loading mechanism is then directed to load an incoming specimen container into a selected one of the open and available cells based on the ranking.

A cell culture incubator with an incubator cabinet has an internal chamber with a door opening from an external environment. An imager and a manipulator with a scraper are in the internal chamber. A controller is configured for controlling the manipulator to modulate the contact pressure between a scraping edge of the cell scraper and a surface of a cell culture vessel and a sensor is connected to the cell scraper that provides signal to the controller informative of a sensed pressure between a scraping edge of the cell scraper and the surface of a cell culture vessel. The controller controls the manipulator to increase or decrease the pressure between a scraping edge of the cell scraper and the surface of a cell culture vessel.

In blood coagulation time measurement, the reaction time relies on the blood coagulation ability of a specimen and is not fixed. In particular, in module-type devices, errors may occur in the specimen processing, measurement number, and measurement time between a plurality of blood coagulation analysis units, leading to the risk of lowering the processing capability of the device as a whole. The present invention is a module-type automated analyzer provided with a plurality of blood coagulation analysis units capable of analyzing blood coagulation time items in which the reaction time between a specimen and a reagent differs depending on the specimen, wherein a control unit that controls the specimen rack conveying operation finds the total of forecasted measurement times of measurement items requested for specimens being analyzed and queued specimens in each of the plurality of blood coagulation analysis units, and determines the conveyance destination of the specimen rack on the basis of the total of the forecasted measurement times that was found.

Automated Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) systems and methods are provided in which samples are passed through one or more recursive or non-deterministic operations and are batched or re-batched to optimize the utilization of resources for subsequent deterministic operation sequences. Automated AST systems are also provided in which deterministic and non-deterministic workflows are spatially segregated.

A cell incubator system comprising a housing having an internal chamber having a controlled temperature and gas mixture therein appropriate for the growth of particular cells for incubation of the particular cells in one or more cell culture vessels in the internal chamber and a plurality of cell operation stations in the internal chamber. The stations receive plates having wells for holding cells and wherein the cell operations stations perform operations on cells in the wells. The system has a robotic transport for moving plates from one station to another.

Aspects of the invention relate to automated cell culture incubators. In some embodiments, automated cell culture incubators comprise an integrated manipulation device having one or more cell scrapers.

Aspects of the invention relate to automated cell culture incubators. In some embodiments, automated cell culture incubators comprise an integrated manipulation having one or more cell scrapers.

A cell incubator system comprising a housing having an internal chamber having a controlled temperature and gas mixture therein appropriate for the growth of particular cells for incubation of the particular cells in one or more cell culture vessels in the internal chamber and a plurality of cell operation stations in the internal chamber. The stations receive plates having wells for holding cells and wherein the cell operations stations perform operations on cells in the wells. The system has a robotic transport for moving plates from one station to another.

The present invention relates to an integrated automated slide processing system, especially to stain, to cover and to digitize one or more microscope slides (49) in one turn. Said system comprises, as a single apparatus, at least one incubation drawer, an incubation drawer carrier (1), a manipulation tray (2), a manipulation arm (3), a reagent changing unit (4), a washing and rinsing unit, a drop removal unit, a staining/pipetting unit (13), a coverslipping unit (14), a preview image recording unit (15), a digitizing unit (16) and a control computer (18) electrically connected with and providing control over said units, wherein each of the one or more unstained and un-covered microscope slides with sample to be stained, covered and digitized is arranged in an incubation drawer having sidewalls defining a vertically constrained slide receiving space, and wherein the above listed units form a treating path along which said microscope slide (49) is converted into a stained, covered and, at least partially, digitized microscope slide when simultaneously guided over said treating path upon and in harmony with respective control signals provided by the control computer (18) to the respective units.