Patent ID: 6979425

Claim:
A high capacity microarrayer for spotting solution onto slides, comprising: A) a solution removal area, B) a microplate stacking device for stacking microplates, C) a microplate indexing device for sequentially indexing microplates containing solution from said microplate stacking device to said solution removal area and for sequentially indexing said microplates from said solution removal area to said microplate stacking device after at least some of said solution has been removed, D) a slide positioning station for positioning slides, and E) a dispense head for accessing said solution removal area and for removing solution from a solution filled microplate at said solution removal area to spot a slide at said slide positioning station, F) at least one light source capable of illuminating the slides, G) at least one camera operating in conjunction with said at least one light source, said at least one camera capable of acquiring and transmitting slide image data, H) a computer programmed to: 1) receive said slide image data from said at least one camera, 2) analyze said slide image data, and 3) generate post analysis data based on said analysis of said slide image data, wherein said post analysis data comprises information relating to the success or failure of said microarrayer to successfully spot solution onto the slides, and I) an adjustment means for permitting adjustments to be made to said spotting of solution onto the slides wherein said adjustments are made based on said post analysis data, J) at least one cleaning station, comprising: 1) a sonic cleaner, 2) a rinsing fountain, and 3) a vacuum manifold.