The present invention provides an automatic chemical analysis apparatus and an electrical impedance spectrometry device which make it possible to detect the state of a stirring mechanism prior to performing a stirring operation. The automatic chemical analysis apparatus dispenses a reagent and a sample to be analyzed into a reactor vessel 107, and performs stirring by applying sonic waves to the reactor vessel 107. The automatic chemical analysis apparatus comprises: a piezoelectric element 201 that generates sonic waves; a plurality of split electrodes 211 that are provided to the surface of the piezoelectric element 201; a power amplifier 203 that causes the piezoelectric element 201 to generate sonic waves by applying a voltage to each of the split electrodes 211; and a host computer and impedance measuring circuit that measure the electrical impedance spectrum of each split electrode 211 by applying a voltage to each of the split electrodes 211.

The current invention relates to the method and apparatus to magnetically separate biological entities with magnetic labels from a fluid sample. The claimed magnetic separation device removes biological entities with magnetic labels from its fluidic solution by using a soft-magnetic center pole with two soft-magnetic side poles. The claimed device further includes processes to dissociate entities conglomerate after magnetic separation.

The present invention provides a chemical analyzer with highly reliable agitation performance, said chemical analyzer not only diagnosing the deterioration of a piezoelectric element, but also diagnosing the deformation and displacement of a reaction container and diagnosing the normality of the liquid quantity of a substance to be agitated in the reaction container. This chemical analyzer is characterized by comprising: an agitating mechanism that uses acoustic waves to agitate a sample and a reagent within a reaction container, generates acoustic waves using a piezoelectric element, and has an acoustic wave sensor for detecting the acoustic waves; and a controller that controls the agitating mechanism. Said chemical analyzer is further characterized in that the controller has: an acoustic wave detection unit that processes a detection signal detected by the acoustic wave sensor; a normality information memory in which normal-time information is stored; a signal intensity determination unit that compares the acoustic wave amplitude and acoustic wave frequency transmitted from the acoustic wave detection unit with the acoustic wave amplitude and acoustic wave frequency stored in the normality information memory; and a repeat period determination unit that compares the acoustic wave period characteristic transmitted from the acoustic wave detection unit with the acoustic wave period characteristic stored in the normality information memory.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method and/or a device for carrying out chemical, biochemical and/or immunochemical analyses of liquid samples, which are present in a sample store of an automatic analyzer, with the aid of liquid reagents which are present in at least one reagent store of the analyzer. In one example embodiment, the automatic analyzer includes cuvettes, a first pipettor, a device with an optical measurement unit, a device for heterogenous immunoassays, a cuvette washing unit, a needle washing unit, a temperature control unit.

An ultrasound generation member according to an aspect of the present invention includes an ultrasound generation element configured to emit ultrasound in a direction of a target object in one specific container of a plurality of containers. An ultrasound emission device according to an aspect of the present invention includes the ultrasound generation member, and a drive power supply configured to apply voltage across the ultrasound generation element of the ultrasound generation member. An ultrasound emission device according to an aspect of the present invention includes the ultrasound generation member that includes, as the ultrasound generation element, a plurality of ultrasound generation elements, and a drive power supply configured to apply voltage across the plurality of ultrasound generation elements of the ultrasound generation member.

Magnetic beads having cell components of interest are translated between a sequence of processing wells in a tray without need for pipetting. The circular tray contains one or more sequences of wells each interconnected by a respective channel. The tray is rotated about a central axis and a magnet, an agitator, and a heater provided external to the tray enable magnetic bead translation, mixing, and incubation, respectively. The magnet proximate a well forms a cluster of beads. Manipulation of the tray in rotation and elevation results in translation of the cluster from one well, through a channel, and into an adjacent well. The well containing a cluster may be rotationally positioned in front of the agitator, the agitator extended into contact with the well, followed by mechanical agitation. The heater, disposed beneath the tray, may accept a well lowered thereto for selective heating.

Devices, systems and methods including a sonicator for sample preparation are provided. A sonicator may be used to mix, resuspend, aerosolize, disperse, disintegrate, or de-gas a solution. A sonicator may be used to disrupt a cell, such as a pathogen cell in a sample. Sample preparation may include exposing pathogen-identifying material by sonication to detect, identify, or measure pathogens. A sonicator may transfer ultrasonic energy to the sample solution by contacting its tip to an exterior wall of a vessel containing the sample. Multipurpose devices including a sonicator also include further components for additional actions and assays. Devices, and systems comprising such devices, may communicate with a laboratory or other devices in a system for sample assay and analysis. Methods utilizing such devices and systems are provided. The improved sample preparation devices, systems and methods are useful for analyzing samples, e.g. for diagnosing patients suffering from infection by pathogens.

Method and apparatus for controlling acoustic treatment of a sample including a liquid. A processing volume in which the sample is acoustically treated may be controlled, e.g., by positioning a suitable element so as to reduce and/or eliminate a headspace size at a sample/gas interface. An interaction between the acoustic energy and the sample may be controlled, e.g., by using a headspace control element positioned at least partially in the sample that helps to reduce splashing or other sample ejection that would otherwise occur.

An automated active clay analyzer apparatus for analyzing active clays in a mineral slurry in a vessel or passing through a conduit, comprising a controller operable to manage the operations associated with the apparatus; an automatic sampler coupled to the vessel or conduit and operable to extract a sample of a determined volume of the slurry from the vessel or conduit, the automatic sampler being under control of the controller; at least one fluid delivery device under control of the controller and operable to deliver a known volume of water and a known volume of cationic dye into the sample; a mixing chamber that receives the sample; an agitator operable to agitate the sample, the water and the cationic dye in the mixing chamber to produce a diluted sample mixture; an automatic filter operable to filter the diluted sample mixture to produce a filtrate; and a spectrophotometer having an optical flow cell that receives the filtrate from the automatic filter and is operable to measure a spectra absorbance of the filtrate in the optical flow cell using at least one wavelength to obtain spectra absorbance data of the filtrate that may be used to control the processing of the mineral slurry or other aspects of a mineral processing operation related to the mineral slurry in near real time.

Disclosed are mixing apparatus adapted to provide mixing of components in an automated analyzer. The mixing apparatus includes a reservoir configured to contain a coupling liquid, a transducer configured to be driven at a frequency and communicate with the coupling liquid, and a signal generation unit configured to provide a phase modulatable drive signal to the transducer. In some embodiments, improved patient sample and reagent mixing may be provided. Systems and methods are provided, as are other aspects.