An apparatus for limiting pipette motion, the apparatus comprising: (1) a stand for controlling spatial positions; (2) a mechanism for temporally coupling the pipette with the stand; the orientation or the movement of the pipette being restricted by the stand as predetermined for (a) limiting the insertion depth of the pipette tips into sample containers, (b) restricting unwanted movements or rotations of the pipette, or (c) maintaining the desired alignments of the pipette tips with the sample containers. Methods of limiting pipette motion or rotation are also provided.

An apparatus includes a media that includes an encoded pattern to indicate a location of each of a plurality of dispensing locations on a receiving area for a pipette dispenser. The encoded pattern is employed to guide the pipette dispenser to dispense a volume to a selected dispensing location from the plurality of dispensing locations based on a predetermined dispensing location on the receiving area.

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for centering a circular object, such as a petri dish, between a plurality of pins. For example, in one embodiment, a method comprises placing a circular object on a rotatable platform surrounded by three moveable pins. In order to roughly center the circular object, the method further comprises moving, for a first time, all of the pins toward the circular object until at least two out of the three pins are touching the circular object. In order to more accurately center the circular object, the method further comprises: moving all of the pins away from the circular object so that it can be rotated without substantial inference; rotating the platform approximately 60 degrees, wherein rotating the platform causes the circular object to also rotate by approximately 60 degrees; and moving, for a second time, all of the pins toward the circular object.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to demarcation templates for demarcating a test area on a test surface and for providing visual guidance to a user to precisely and accurately swab the test surface in order to determine the presence and/or concentration of an analyte of interest on the test surface. In one aspect, the analyte of interest is a hazardous contaminant. Some templates can include alignment markings around the border demarcating the test area to provide such guidance to users, and can include graphical use instructions on a removable central portion of the template. The template can be adhesive to be securely fixed to the test surface for accurate demarcation of the test area throughout sampling.

An optical positioning code disk, device and method for a microfluidic chip are provided. A cross section of an outer contour of the code disk is circular. N light transmissive openings are arranged uniformly around the code disk. The device includes: the code disk, a positioning pin, a rotating shaft, a motor, an internal photoelectric switch and an external photoelectric switch. A positioning surface is provided on the rotating shaft. The motor is fixedly connected with an end of the rotating shaft, and the other end of the rotating shaft passes through a center of the cross section of the code disk. The internal and external photoelectric switches are configured to identify the light transmissive openings on the code disk.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to demarcation templates for demarcating a test area on a test surface and for providing visual guidance to a user to precisely and accurately swab the test surface in order to determine the presence and/or concentration of an analyte of interest on the test surface. In one aspect, the analyte of interest is a hazardous contaminant. Some templates can include alignment markings around the border demarcating the test area to provide such guidance to users, and can include graphical use instructions on a removable central portion of the template. The template can be adhesive to be securely fixed to the test surface for accurate demarcation of the test area throughout sampling.

A reaction vessel has plural wells each configured to accommodate a sample on the same plane or on the same straight line. Among the wells of a well plate, a specific well other than a well at a center of point symmetry is an orientation recognizing well in which a fluorescent dye is placed. The reaction vessel can identify a position of the orientation recognizing well by using fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent dye, and can thereby recognize an orientation of the reaction vessel.

A biological indicator reader system (100) may comprise a standalone computing device (110) comprising a standalone reading system (140) and a graphical user interface (112) (e.g., a graphical touchscreen interface) that communicates with at least one incubator unit (130). The at least one incubator unit (130) may comprise a plurality of wells (132) that accommodate vials (134) as well as a display (136). The display may display information (e.g., an identification of a number of wells connected to the standalone computing device) that is also displayed on the graphical user interface (112) of the standalone computing device (110). The display (136) may be configured to show which well (132) has a vial (134) inserted therein and, additionally or alternatively, to indicate a test result in front of each respective well (132) of a test performed on the vial (134). Further, the at least one incubator unit (130) may comprise plural incubator units, which themselves comprise modular components. The plural incubator units may be connected to each other, e.g., in a daisy chain configuration.

Luminescence test measurements are conducted using an assay module having integrated electrodes with a reader apparatus adopted to receive assay modules, induce luminescence, preferably electrode induced luminescence, in the wells or assay regions of the assay modules and measure the induced luminescence.

A method to correct signal light intensities measured by a detector of a detection unit in a laboratory instrument is presented. The detection unit comprises a light source, a sample plane comprising a sample holder configured to hold at least one sample vessel comprising a test sample to be illuminated, a reference light sensor, and the detector. Based on a basic light intensity of a newly manufactured light source and an initial light intensity measured by the reference light sensor the sensitivity of the reference light sensor can be determined. And signal light intensities measured by the detector can be corrected based on the determined sensitivity and subsequently measured reference light intensities of the reference light sensor in order to generate comparable test results.