Patent ID: 6013528
Filing Date: 2000-01-11
Classification: G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for improving throughput in a clinical analyzer, said analyzer comprising a dispensing station and at least one test station for detecting a target substance in a patient sample, said dispensing station comprising:an aspirator probe;a disposable tip mounted on said probe, for collecting a biological sample liquid from a primary collection container and for dispensing at least a portion of the collected liquid onto or into a test element, said tip comprising an upper mounting portion for mounting on said probe, an exit orifice opposite said mounting portion for taking in and dispensing liquid into and out of, respectively, the tip, and a conical shape extending between said mounting portion and said orifice; andmeans for creating a partial pressure or partial vacuum within said probe and said tip;the method comprising the steps of:a) aspirating a biological liquid into one of said tips mounted on said probe;b) while the liquid is within said tip and said tip is on said probe, detecting one or more target substances in said liquid by transmitting light of near infrared and adjacent visible radiation wavelengths at multiple wavelengths through a conical portion of said tip and spectrophotometrically analyzing at said wavelengths the portion of the light transmitted through said tip, by correlating said transmitted light with the concentration of one or more target substances in the liquid, said correlating including the step of calculating a first derivative of the absorbance value as a function of wavelength;c) dispensing a portion of the liquid from the tip onto a test element; andd) testing at said test station, said test element plus liquid, for target substances other than said one or more target substances;so that throughput is increased by the amount of time not required to test said one or more target substances at said test station.