An autonomous water quality sensing apparatus, a system and a method for operating the apparatus are provided. In the autonomous water quality sensing system, the autonomous water quality sensing apparatus is configured to move on a track. In the method, a driving mechanism is used to drive the autonomous water quality sensing apparatus to operate over an elevated track surrounding one or more pools. The autonomous water quality sensing apparatus includes a sensing device. The sensor is put into the pool at a planned stop by a sensor deploying mechanism of the autonomous water quality sensing apparatus, so as to obtain water quality data of each of the pools according to a routing plan and a length setting.

[Solving Means] A sample liquid-sending apparatus includes a placement portion, a suction mechanism, and a vibrator. A sample container is placed in the placement portion, the sample container containing a suspension of a sample. The suction mechanism includes a nozzle configured to be inserted into the sample container placed in the placement portion, and suctions the sample through the nozzle. The vibrator vibrates the nozzle.

A method comprises: aspirating a sample through a needle capillary into a chamber having first and second windows, the capillary and chamber both affixed to a moveable robotic arm; causing a light beam generated by a light source that is affixed to the robotic arm to pass through the sample between the windows; detecting, using a photodetector that is affixed to the robotic arm, a quantity of the light that passes through the sample and the windows; determining an optical absorbance of the sample and a concentration of an analyte in the sample from the detected quantity of light; determining a quantity of the sample to dispense into an analytical apparatus based on the determined concentration; moving the robotic arm so as to cause the needle capillary to mate with an inlet port of an analytical apparatus; and dispensing the determined quantity of the sample into the analytical apparatus.

A photometric dispensing nozzle unit, a photometric dispensing apparatus, and a photometric dispensing method are for preventing an increase in apparatus scale and have a simple structure to be easily handled. A nozzle performs suction/discharge of gas through a distal end opening and can have a dispensing tip attached thereto. A light guide end portion is provided in the nozzle and can receive or irradiate light at a distal end of the nozzle. A dispensing cylinder has a cylinder having a cavity therein, a plunger that is slidable in the cavity, and a suction/discharge port that performs suction/discharge of gas. A suction/discharge flow path passes through the nozzle and communicates with the suction/discharge port and the distal end opening of the nozzle. A light guide path is optically connected to the light guide end portion through the nozzle but not through the dispensing cylinder.

A sample processing station includes two or more container holders on a platform that is rotatable about a central axis of rotation. Each holder is configured to rotate about a secondary axis of rotation. The station includes a capping/decapping mechanism to cap or decap a container held in one of the container holders and an elevator with a chuck guide that contact the container holder as the chuck is lowered by the elevator to position the chuck with respect to the cap of the container held in the holder and to hold jaws of the container holder in a closed position. In embodiment, the chuck guide includes a yoke with opposed arms and spindles located near distal ends of the arms that engage beveled shoulders of the container holder.

An instrument for detecting signal from a biological sample includes a pipettor module configured to hold a plurality of pipettes in respective pipette positions, to hold liquid in one or more pipette tips, and to pipette liquid in and out of the one or more pipette tips. Each of the one or more pipette tips has a pipette tip point. The instrument further includes one or more magnets positioned such that each of the one or more pipette tips is adjacent one of the one or more magnets.

A method of automatically distinguishing absorption or non-absorption of whole blood or blood plasma by using a reflective photosensor in an automatic immunoassay device including a round cartridge which may simultaneously perform the centrifugation and automatic analysis of a blood sample and a tip which may be moved up, down, left and right based on the round cartridge, the method includes: installing the reflective photosensor below the round cartridge; mounting the tip above the round cartridge, and continuously measuring blood non-absorption data in a range including a position where the blood is absorbed by using the reflective photosensor, collecting the measured data and storing the collected data while the tip is raised; continuously measuring blood absorption data by using the reflective photosensor while the tip is lowered and absorbs the blood present in the range including the position where the blood is absorbed from the round cartridge; and determining whether a type of the blood is whole blood or blood plasma, or whether the whole blood or the blood plasma is not absorbed by comparing the blood non-absorption data with the blood absorption data.

A sample processing station includes two or more container holders on a platform that is rotatable about a central axis of rotation. Each holder is configured to rotate about a secondary axis of rotation. The station includes a capping/decapping mechanism to cap or decap a container held in one of the container holders and an elevator with a chuck guide that contact the container holder as the chuck is lowered by the elevator to positon the chuck with respect to the cap of the container held in the holder and to hold jaws of the container holder in a closed position. In embodiment, the chuck guide includes a yoke with opposed arms and spindles located near distal ends of the arms that engage beveled shoulders of the container holder.

End effector assemblies according to the present disclosure include a tool body mounted to a robotic arm and an impedance-measuring tip coupled to the tool body. The impedance-measuring tip defines a first volume to receive a fluid and a first dispensing outlet for dispensing the fluid. The impedance-measuring tip includes an impedance-measuring sensor configured to output a signal indicative of a change in impedance. A tip extension is fluidically coupled to the impedance-measuring tip that defines a second volume for receiving the fluid. A camera is coupled to the tool body and configured to capture image data of the second volume that captures at least a visual representation of a number of cells or other objects in the second volume. A pump is coupled to the impedance-measuring tip to dispense the fluid from the first volume into the second volume and from the second volume into a receptacle.

In relation to an automated nucleic acid processor and an automated nucleic acid processing method using a multi function dispensing unit, processing involving extraction and amplification of the nucleic acid, can be consistently, quickly and efficiently conducted at a low cost with the use of a multi function dispensing unit, while saving user's trouble without expanding the scale of the device. The multi function dispensing unit includes: a nozzle head provided with a suction-discharge mechanism and nozzles detachably provided with dispensing tips; a container group having, at the very least housing parts for liquids and reaction containers for housing an amplification solution; a transfer mechanism that makes an interval between the nozzles and the container group relatively movable; a temperature controller whereby temperature control of the interior of the reaction vessels is possible; sealing liquids and/or sealing lids that are transportable to the reaction vessels using the nozzles, and which make the amplification solutions housed in the reaction vessels sealable within the reaction vessels; and a sealing control part that controls the suction-discharge mechanism or the transfer mechanism, such that the sealing liquid and/or the sealing lids seal the amplification solution within the reaction vessels when the housing of the amplification solution in the reaction vessels is completed.