Patent ID: 8883509

Claim:
A method for continuous-access processing of a plurality of individual substrate-supported biological samples in an automated biological processing apparatus, the apparatus having a plurality of individual and separate substrate support units arranged adjacent to each other in substantially the same plane along a minor arc of a circle and where each of the individual substrate support units are automatedly and independently movable between a separate processing position and a separate access position, and an elongate nozzle plate rotatably mounted at the center of the circle and that extends toward the minor arc, but in a plane above the plurality of substrate holders, and along a radial line of the minor arc, wherein a cylindrical reagent dispenser carousel including at least one reagent dispenser is rotatably mounted on the top side of the elongate nozzle plate, the elongate nozzle plate having at least one device and at least one nozzle mounted to the underside of the nozzle plate, the at least one nozzle being in fluid communication with the reagent dispenser on the reagent dispenser carousel; the cylindrical reagent dispenser carousel having an axis and a second radius, the second radius being smaller than the first radius such that the at least one reagent dispenser on the carousel can be positioned over a substrate holder along the minor arc through a combination of rotational movement of the elongate nozzle plate around the center of the circle and rotational movement of the cylindrical reagent dispenser carousel around its axis, the method comprising: placing a substrate-supported sample onto an unoccupied substrate support unit in an access position; automatedly moving an individual substrate support unit and its substrate-supported sample to a processing position in response to a user command; automatedly detecting the substrate-supported sample moved into the processing position on the substrate support unit; automatedly qualifying one or more reagents on the cylindrical reagent carousel rotatably mounted on said elongate nozzle plate and needed to perform a staining procedure; and automatedly initiating processing of the detected sample in a pre-determined order of steps, the pre-determined order of steps carried out on the sample independently of processing steps in progress on other samples already being processed by the apparatus and independently of processing steps initiated for additional samples later added to the system wherein said nozzle plate sequentially moves the one or more different devices and one or more nozzles mounted to the underside of said nozzle plate above said substrate-supported samples to process one or more substrate-supported samples simultaneously.