Patent ID: 7939021

Claim:
A sample analyzer comprising: (a) an analyzer unit comprising: (i) electronic or optical receiving means; (ii) a means of electrical interface between the cartridge and the analyzer, wherein electrical signals may pass between the cartridge and analyzer unit; (iii) a control module which provides instructions to one or more of the following: (1) means for converting bulk liquid sample into discrete droplets of known volume; (2) means for transporting the droplets; (3) means for preparing sample droplets for analysis; (4) means for converting one or more stored reagents into discrete droplets; (5) means of combining and/or mixing sample and reagent droplets to perform an assay; and (6) an assay sensor module housed in the cartridge, wherein the means for transporting droplets delivers the raw or prepared sample to the sensor module; (iv) a means for storing one or more reagents, wherein reagent storage comprises one or more sealed pouches, each pouch comprising a required reagent wherein the one or more sealed pouches are mechanically or electrically pierceable to allow flow onto a chip surface, and wherein controlled volume delivery of the reagent is accomplished using droplet actuation, and wherein the means for storing one or more reagents is controlled by the control module; (v) a means for locally storing the data from detectors and other subsystems; (vi) a detector module comprising at least one optical detector positioned to correspond to the cartridge optical signal; (vii) a means of interpreting data from electronic detectors and/or optical detectors; (viii) a means of displaying test results and other messages; (ix) a communication module adapted to communicate with a user; (x) a means for accepting user input; and (b) a cartridge comprising self-contained droplet handling capabilities, wherein the cartridge is coupled to the analyzer unit by a means which aligns electronic and/or optical outputs from the cartridge with electronic or optical receiving means on the analyzer unit.