Patent ID: 7776195

Claim:
A desktop analytic device that comprises: a substantially horizontal sample processing platform that is configured to receive a biochip, wherein the biochip is at least partially enclosed in a housing, wherein the housing is configured to allow at least partial immersion of the biochip by a fluid that is retained by the housing; an energy source that is thermally and mechanically coupled to the platform and configured to allow delivery of energy from the platform through the housing to the fluid in the biochip while the biochip is disposed on the platform; a confocal microscope detector that is coupled to the platform such that a substantially horizontal transport path is formed between the detector and the platform, a push actuator operationally coupled to a robotic arm, wherein the robotic arm and the push actuator are configured to allow pushing of the biochip along a y-coordinate in a sliding motion from the platform into the detector via the transport path; a magazine that is configured to hold a plurality of biochips; wherein the robotic arm, the platform, and the detector are configured such that the biochip is movable by the actuator in a sliding motion within the desktop analytic device without manual intervention of an operator from the magazine to the platform, and from the platform to the detector while an analyte is bound to the biochip; and wherein the sample processing platform and the detector are enclosed in the desktop analytic device.