Patent ID: 7037470

Claim:
A system for making a biochemical assay of each of a plurality of provided specimens, the system comprising: a. a plurality of receptacles, each receptacle for containing a respective specimen of the plurality of specimens, each receptacle comprising a surface for binding a paramagnetic particle to the surface; b. a detector for providing a resistance responsive to paramagnetic particle proximity to the detector in accordance with a giant magnetoresistive effect; c. a mechanism for positioning each respective surface in working proximity to the detector for providing a respective resistance; d. a controller for controlling the mechanism and for recording indicia of each respective resistance; wherein said detector comprises a multiplicity of physically defined active areas for independent detecting of each of a corresponding multiplicity of specimens of the plurality of specimens; each active area comprises a plurality of sensors, each sensor comprising an independent resistance responsive to paramagnetic particle proximity to the respective sensor in accordance with a respective giant magnetoresistive effect; and said controller further records indicia of resistance of each sensor.