Patent ID: 9075055
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An optical reading subassembly for an automated immunochemistry analyzer, comprising: an optical pipette configured to aspirate a sample from a cuvette as part of a chemistry process on an automated analyzer; an opaque optics box, which mates in a light tight manner with the optical pipette, with a common end and an emission end of a bifurcated optical fiber bundle, with a drain tube, and with a multi-pin electrical power/signal connector; a fluorescence excitation light source; a bifurcated fiber optic bundle, one leg of which is connected to the light source, one leg of which is connected through a series of emission optical filters to a fluorescence detection port of the optics box, and whose common end is connected to the optics box so that it can efficiently illuminate and thereby excite a fluorescent sample in the tip of the optical pipette and simultaneously collect a portion of the emission light from that fluorescent sample; a drain port, which allows droplets of fluid from the pipette tip to be removed from the optics box, without introducing stray light into the box; an optical detector with enough dynamic range to measure both fluorescence and luminescence signal from the samples; and a shutter mechanism, which can move the optical detector between a luminescence reading position, a fluorescence reading position, and an optically dark position.