Patent ID: 7397247

Claim:
An apparatus configured for determining, by means of magnetic resonance, a quantitative property of each of a plurality of sample substances, wherein each sample substance is contained in a predetermined section of a separate sample container, the apparatus comprising: a conveyor configured for conveying said sample containers through a measuring station; a magnet system configured for generating a constant magnetic field of high homogeneity within the measuring station through which the sample containers are moved in a conveying direction; a split-ring resonator in the shape of a cylinder with a central axis arranged perpendicular to the conveying direction and having two diametrically- opposed gaps extending through the cylinder parallel to the central axis, each cylinder gap having adjacent thereto an annex extending parallel to the central axis, the annexes having heights greater than the cylinder height and broad surfaces in the measuring station between which each sample container passes; a transmitter receiver that feeds a high frequency signal to the split ring resonator so that a high frequency magnetic field is generated and received substantially only in the predetermined section of each sample container when that sample container is in the measuring station; and a magnetic resonance measuring unit at the measuring station configured for determining the quantitative property of each sample substance by means of magnetic resonance signals obtained from each sample substance contained within the predetermined section of each sample container when each is located at or within the measuring station.