Automation compatible removable lids are provided. The removable lids include a top surface surrounded by a peripheral rim. The removable lids further include septal portions configured to receive an extractor, such as a pipette tip, inserted therethrough. The septal portions are further configured to grip the extractor to facilitate lid removal.

Manually operated pipettors, widely used in clinical, forensics, pharmaceutical research, hospital and biotech laboratories to transfer small volumes of liquid, may be subject to positional errors, operator use errors and hidden performance degradation. Manual pipette performance cannot be accepted without monitoring and reporting. This invention concerns a computer controlled vision tracking and lighting system working in conjunction with a sensor controlled fluid dispensing device and controller to confirm pipette tip positional locations during aspiration and dispensing operations with automatic monitoring of liquids entering and leaving a pipette apparatus to digitally track a manual pipetting operation with a digital output file of validated liquid transfer results. The invention may also monitor possible error conditions and prevent improper liquid transfers during the manual process.

Systems and methods provide for detection and controlled interaction with one or more objects. The system can include an imaging subsystem (20), a tool subsystem (26) containing one or more tools, a stage subsystem (16) and a control system (40). The control system (40) can integrate controls for each of the other subsystems, which controls can be implement desired functions over a variety of process parameters to perform the controlled interaction.

The present disclosure relates to a trackable precise-sample-injection device for a multi-well plate and, more specifically, to a trackable precise-sample-injection device for a multi-well plate, the device being capable of: preventing cross-contamination that can occur when many samples are manually put into a multi-well plate, and a diagnosis error caused by the injection of a sample into the wrong well or repeated injection; and simply recording and tracking information about wells into which samples are injected. The present disclosure relates to a trackable precise-sample-injection device for a multi-well plate, the device being capable of being efficiently used for a pooling inspection, and the like by injecting a plurality of samples into a multi-well plate.

Fiducial markers are provided on patterned arrays of the type that may be used for molecular analysis, such as sequencing. The fiducial markers may have configurations that enhance their detection in image or detection data, that facilitate or improve processing, that provide encoding of useful information, and so forth. Examples of the fiducial markers may include features and materials that are provided on or in the support of a patterned array and that return at least a portion of incident light by reflection. The fiducial markers may form gratings or other encoding configurations that assist in image processing, alignment, or other aspects of processing of the patterned array.

Automated apparatus and methods for dispensing fluids into microplates utilizing microwell covers, the covers comprising open portions to allow a pipette access to one or more wells and impermeable portions which prevent the fluids from getting into wells shielded by the impermeable portion. The open portions and impermeable portions are preferably arranged and sized to align with alternating rows of wells in a particular microplate. Preferred covers are movably positioned on the microplate. Automated dispensing apparatus for use with microplates and microwell covers comprises a programmable controller, and suitable interfaces which allow the apparatus to be programmed, and which control a dispensing head such that pipettes are moved in the desired manner in order to take advantage of the protective features of the microwell covers. The apparatus also preferably comprises at least one transfer mechanism for moving a cover relative to a microplate at a dispensing station.

A cartridge pre-processing device system and method receives immunoassay lateral flow assay test cartridges for development prior to submitting the cartridge for assay/analysis. The cartridge pre-processing device supports high assay throughput with reduced operator burden by automating device pre-processing timing steps without locking-down the reader that is used to perform the assay/analysis. The pre-processing device is operated in a walk-a-way mode. The pre-processing device is separate from the assay cartridge reader and is capable of automatically timing the development of an assay cartridge with minimal to no operator oversight. Additionally, the device disclosed herein is able to alert the operator when assay development is complete and when the assay has developed in excess of a predetermined flex-time associated with an individual cartridge.

A pipetting system includes: a pipetting device; a pipetting container including a plurality of pipetting positions into each of which the pipetting device pipettes liquid; and a positional relation detector configured to detect a positional relation between a front-end position of a tip and each of the pipetting positions. The pipetting device includes circuitry configured to, when a pipetting switch that orders pipetting is turned on, on condition that the front-end position of the tip detected by the positional relation detector is located at one of pipetting positions that is indicated by a pipetting pattern set up in advance, allow pipetting corresponding to the pipetting pattern, and on condition that the front-end position of the tip detected by the positional relation detector does not correspond to a corresponding one of pipetting positions that is indicated by the pipetting pattern set up in advance, disallow the pipetting.

Systems and methods provide for detection and controlled interaction with one or more objects. The system can include an imaging subsystem (20), a tool subsystem (26) containing one or more tools, a stage subsystem (16) and a control system (40). The control system (40) can integrate controls for each of the other subsystems, which controls can be implement desired functions over a variety of process parameters to perform the controlled interaction.

A well tracking device includes a rectangular frame including four sidewalls. The sidewalls define sets of opposing grooves, and the well tracking device is configured to receive or fit on top of a multi-well plate. The well tracking device also includes a well coordinate indicator positioned on an upper portion of the rectangular frame, that includes labels associated with columns and/or rows of the multi-well plate. The well tracking device also includes at least one slider that is configured to interface with a set of opposing grooves and slide along a width or length of the rectangular frame. The slider includes a plurality of openings disposed along the elongated shape of the slider.