Patent ID: 8159658

Claim:
A system for the automated analysis of samples, comprising: (a) a first optical device including: at least one receptacle for receiving at least one of the samples, and a receptacle-associated optical unit including (i) at least one receptacle-associated light source to generate a light beam to irradiate the sample contained in the receptacle, the light beam of the receptacle-associated light source being adapted for determining a color of the sample, and (ii) at least one receptacle-associated light detector to detect light transmitted through the sample and generate a first detection signal based on the light transmitted through the sample; (b) a second optical device including: at least one test element having at least one test zone sized to receive the sample, the test zone being configured to produce an optically detectable change based on at least one characteristic of the sample, the characteristic being different from the color, and a test element-associated optical unit including (i) at least one test element-associated light source to generate a light beam to irradiate the test zone, the light beam being adapted for determining the optically detectable change of the at least one test zone, and (ii) a test element-associated light detector to detect light reflected from the test zone and generating a second detection signal based on the light reflected from the test zone; (c) an analytical unit to (i) analyze the first detection signal to determine a first result related to the colour of the sample and (ii) analyze the second detection signal to determine a second result related to the characteristic of the sample; and (d) a controlling unit electrically-connected to the analytical unit, the controlling unit to control the operation of the analytical unit such that the second detection signal is analyzed in response to the first result related to the colour of the sample.