Automated molecular pathology apparatus having fixed slide platforms
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
- (a) a slide support tray slidably mounted on rails to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus;
(b) a reagent delivery tray;
(c) a nozzle support plate concentrically mounted between said slide support tray and said reagent delivery tray; and
(d) a reagent dispensing mechanism rotatably and concentrically mounted above said reagent delivery tray for selectively dispensing reagent on a slide carried on the slide support tray;
wherein the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and the nozzle support plate is selectively rotatably operatively movable relative to the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray, and wherein said slide support tray includes at least one liquid drain.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for automatically staining or treating multiple tissue samples mounted on slides are provided, in which the slides and reagent bottles are held in fixed position, and the reagent and wash solutions brought to the slides.
268 Citations
41 Claims
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1. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
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(a) a slide support tray slidably mounted on rails to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus; (b) a reagent delivery tray; (c) a nozzle support plate concentrically mounted between said slide support tray and said reagent delivery tray; and (d) a reagent dispensing mechanism rotatably and concentrically mounted above said reagent delivery tray for selectively dispensing reagent on a slide carried on the slide support tray; wherein the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and the nozzle support plate is selectively rotatably operatively movable relative to the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray, and wherein said slide support tray includes at least one liquid drain. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
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(a) a slide support tray slidably mounted on rails to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus; (b) a reagent delivery tray; (c) a nozzle support plate concentrically mounted between said slide support tray and said reagent delivery tray; and (d) a reagent dispensing mechanism rotatably and concentrically mounted above said reagent delivery tray for selectively dispensing reagent on a slide carried on the slide support tray; wherein the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and the nozzle support plate is selectively rotatably operatively movable relative to the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray, and wherein said reagent dispensing mechanism comprises two spaced robotic dispensing pipettes which are selectively movable relative to the reagent delivery tray.
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21. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
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(a) a slide support tray slidably mounted on rails to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus; (b) a reagent delivery tray; (c) a nozzle support plate concentrically mounted between said slide support tray and said reagent delivery tray; and (d) a reagent dispensing mechanism rotatably and concentrically mounted above said reagent delivery tray for selectively dispensing reagent on a slide carried on the slide support tray; wherein the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and the nozzle support plate is selectively rotatably operatively movable relative to the slide support tray and the reagent delivery tray, and further comprising a slide bar code reader carried on said nozzle support plate.
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22. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
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(a) a slide support zone slidably mounted to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus; (b) heating elements associated with the slide support zone for heating slides carried therein; (c) a reagent support zone; and (d) a nozzle support zone concentrically mounted between said slide support zone and said reagent support zone (e) a reagent dispensing mechanism operatively disposed to directly access both said slide support zone and reagent support zone, wherein said slide support zone and said reagent support zone are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and said reagent dispensing mechanism is selectively rotatably mounted above said reagent support zone and operatively movable relative to said slide support zone and said reagent support zone, and wherein said slide support zone includes at least one liquid drain. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An automatic slide processing apparatus comprising:
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(a) a slide support zone slidably mounted on rails to permit loading and unloading of slides into and from the apparatus; (b) heating elements associated with the slide support zone for heating slides carried therein; (c) a reagent support zone; and (d) a nozzle support zone concentrically mounted between said slide support zone and said reagent support zone (d) a reagent dispensing mechanism operatively disposed to directly access both said slide support zone and reagent support zone, wherein said slide support zone and said reagent support zone are operatively fixedly positioned in said apparatus, and said reagent dispensing mechanism is selectively rotatably mounted above said reagent support zone and operatively movable relative to said slide support zone and said reagent support zone and further comprising a reagent bar code reader carried with said reagent dispensing mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification