Patent ID: 8216512

Claim:
An apparatus for automatic processing of at least one biological sample accommodated on at least one slide, comprising: a housing frame; at least one slide; a plurality of drawers within the housing, each drawer comprising a respective carrier rack for supporting the at least one slide; a robotic reagent dispensing head within the housing that performs ongoing robotic processing, including dispensing of reagents, at least one sample processing section within the housing for accommodating at least one of the plurality of drawers; a cover for protecting said at least one sample processing section in said housing, said cover enclosing the sample processing section and defining an interior space between the housing and the cover; at least one climate control device for controlling the environment within said interior space defined by the cover; a sensor device for providing feedback signals to the climate control device; and a data processing device configured to control the at least one climate control device, wherein the data processing device comprises a processing protocol including instructions to apply a predetermined amount of reagents to in a predetermined sequence on the at least one slide, wherein a first drawer is configured to permit a first sample accommodated in the first drawer, for which the processing is completed, to be removed from the apparatus without opening the cover or interrupting the ongoing robotic processing of a second sample in a second drawer, and wherein the second drawer is configured to permit the second sample accommodated in the second drawer, to be inserted into the apparatus without opening the cover or interrupting the dispensing of reagents onto the first sample, in the first drawer, with the robotic reagent dispensing head.