Patent ID: 7964141

Claim:
A device for handling microtomized tissue samples disposed on object carriers having a machine-readable code, the device comprising: a reader to detect information of the code; a controller to process the code information, said controller structured to allocate unsorted object carriers with respect to each other for evaluation purposes in a patient-oriented manner; at least one drive for transporting the object carriers; a transfer device to receive the object carriers; a supply device for feeding the object carriers to said transfer device; and a storage device structured for receiving object carriers from said transfer device, said storage device having a plurality of shelf-like storage device levels stacked, one upon another, in a vertical z-direction, said storage device also having a plurality of presentation carriers disposed next to each other on said storage device levels in a horizontal y-direction, wherein each presentation carrier has a plurality of receptacles for the object carriers, said receptacles being disposed in a horizontal x-direction extending at right angles to said y-direction, said transfer device being structured for carrying out a vertical operating motion in which an object carrier is introduced to one said level, a first horizontal operating motion in which that object carrier is introduced to one said presentation carrier, and a second horizontal operating motion in which that object carrier is introduced into one said receptacle, wherein said controller is structured to control said at least one drive based on information of the object carrier code such that object carriers comprising tissue samples from a same patient are moved via said transfer device to at least one said presentation carrier in a sequence associated with the patient.