Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Gmbh

Dade Behring Inc.

Dade International Inc.

John Paul Mizzer

William David Dunfee

Allan Tit-Shing Chow

Ching-Cherng Lee

Antoine Haddad

Richard Henry Carter, Jr

Nathan A Small

William Jackson Devlin, Sr

Joseph E Brennan

Lawrence D Huppman

Joseph Edward Kegelman

Steven Frye

Edward Anthony Nuzzaci

Raymond Waterbury

Robert E Myers

Media Marie Lloyd

John Esposito

James Brian Fose

Donald Wood

Richard H Carter

Antoine Elias Haddad

Stephen Lawrence Frye

Antoine E Haddad

A system for coupling photometers to an incubation ring for use in in vitro diagnostics comprises one or more light sources, and an incubation ring assembly, and two photometers. An incubation ring assembly comprises an internal trough and an external trough. Each trough comprises (a) an internal wall comprising an internal aperture and (b) an external wall comprising an external aperture. A first photometer comprises: a first optics housing directing light from the light sources through the external aperture of the internal trough, and a first detector positioned to receive the light through the internal aperture of the internal trough. A second photometer comprises a second optics housing directing the light from the light sources through the internal aperture of the external trough, and a second detector positioned to receive the light through the external aperture of the external trough.

Photometer optical coupling for a dual incubation ring using a periscope design

Methods for use with chemical analyzers aspirate a sample portion from one location to dispense it at a second location, aspirate another sample portion at that second location and dispense it at the first location, and measure the pressure values experienced inside a probe performing the aspirations and dispenses. By comparing the pressure values (or other values indicative of the viscosity or other relevant properties of the sample), the chemical analyzer can determine if the sample is sufficiently mixed or if the sample components remain separated and the method should be repeated.

Pressure monitoring of whole blood aspirations to determine completeness of whole blood mixing

Disclosed are methods to aid in a calibration of a vertical orientation of a nozzle tip to a sample container in a processing or testing system. The method includes positioning the nozzle over a calibration target at a home height location (HM), moving the nozzle downward a distance (D) until contact with the calibration target is sensed, positioning the nozzle over the sample rack and moving the nozzle downward until contact with a registration location is sensed, imaging the sample rack and calibration target to determine a height (H) between the registration location and calibration target, and calculating a translation ratio (TR) between the height (H) measured in pixel space and the distance (D) measured in machine space. The translation ratio (TR) may be used to drive the nozzle tip to a predetermined depth. A robot calibration system is disclosed, as are other aspects.

Methods and systems for calibration of a positional orientation between a sample container and nozzle tip

A method and apparatus for adjusting the height of a tip of a mixing element, such as a needle probe, compares the mixing efficiency observed at two heights separated by a predetermined distance. The heights can be incrementally adjusted to determine the location of the bottom of a mixing vessel and, by extension, the approximate location for placing the mixing element for efficient mixing of solutions in the mixing vessel.

Method for optimizing vertical probe alignment using diagnostic mixing routines

Disclosed are systems and apparatus adapted to control a temperature of a process fluid in an instrument. In one aspect, the systems and apparatus are adapted to control fluid temperature provided to a feed tank. The feed tank may feed a metering system and metering line of an instrument such as a clinical analyzer. The fluid temperature control system includes a process fluid inflow, a process fluid outflow, a first fluid path fluidly coupled to the process fluid inflow and outflow, and at least one heat exchanger thermally coupled to the first fluid path, wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to extract heat for at least one heat-generating component of the instrument. Controlling a temperature of the process fluid at the feed tank improves metering accuracy. Methods of operating the system are provided, as are other aspects.

Methods, systems, and apparatus providing temperature-controlled process fluid

A rinsing and drying apparatus of a clinical analyzer probe drain station is provided. The rinsing and drying apparatus has a group of nozzles that are offset from a longitudinal axis of a probe passage and may be inclined and oriented to provide tangentially oriented fluid-jet trajectories exiting into the sample probe passage. The offset nozzles, nozzle orientation, and cavity geometrical features of the device permit the drying capacity of probe-impinging planar air-knife jets to be maximized by stabilizing local internal fluid movement to form a swirling (e.g., helical) gas flow field directed away from a drying region and toward a vacuum exhaust. The rinsing and drying apparatus eliminates rinse water re-circulated entrainment and up-wash (spitting) during the air-knife drying operation. Therefore, the rinsing and drying apparatus significantly reduces water carryout on sampling probes thereby reducing sample/reagent dilution.

Apparatus, systems, and methods adapted to rinse and dry clinical analyzer sample probes

An automatic clinical analyzer in which the number of cuvette ports available for reaction vessels on a reaction carousel are 50% in a configuration using a single reagent storage areas; in a second configuration an additional reagent storage areas is employed and additional ones of the cuvette ports on reaction carousel are utilized, thereby significantly increasing throughput.

Method for increasing capacity in an automatic clinical analyzer by using modular reagent delivery means

Confirming sufficient mixture uniformity between a reagent and liquid sample experiencing a kinetic reaction by comparing the amount of light absorbed within the mixture after the reaction begins with the amount of light absorbed within the solution at the completion of the reaction and requiring that the difference between measured amounts of absorbed light be less than a predetermined value.

Method to determine the effectiveness of a chemical mixing system

A pre-processor for use in performing heterogeneous immunoassays on samples for analytes in the sample employing concentrically positioned incubating and processing carousels. A single transfer station permits reaction vessels containing sample and reagents to be moved between the carousels. The samples are separated, washed and mixed on the processing carousel and incubated on the incubating carousel thus speeding up processing throughput.

Method and apparatus for pre-treating samples in an automatic chemical

A method for cleaning a liquid sample probe in which the probe is positioned within a washing chamber inside a wash body and a purging liquid solution is pumped through the probe into the chamber. A cleaning liquid solution may also be pumped into the chamber around the probe. Either or both liquids are subsequently vacuumed from the chamber drawing air through an annular gap between the probe and the wash body thereby creating a cleaning air flow between the exterior probe surface and the wash body. The cleaning air flow removes all cleaning liquid solution and/or purging liquid solution as the probe is removed from the wash body.

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Newark, DE, United States of America

John Paul Mizzer