METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING AND MIXING BLOOD SAMPLES

摘要

The apparatus for storing and mixing blood samples has a storing and mixing unit (2) which consists of a storage disc (15) and a mixer disc (17) for blood samples (4). The coaxial storage disc (15) and the mixer disc (17) are driven independently of each other and have mutually complementary grooves (42) and (43). A loading device (3) consecutively loads the blood samples (4) into the storage disc (15) which conveys them to a transfer device (5). The transfer device (5) consecutively conveys the blood samples (4) into an oppositely situated groove (43) of the mixer disc (17). The mixer disc (17) rotates the blood samples (4) for a certain mixing time before transferring them to a blood removal device (7). The blood removal device (7) sets the blood samples (4) rotating around their longitudinal axis so that a bar code reading device (6) is able to read the bar code (142) on the blood sample reliably, regardless of its position. Then the blood removal device (7) sucks the blood out of the blood sample (4) and feeds it to a blood analyser. The mixer disc (17) now rotates the blood sample (4) to an ejection position (155) where the blood sample leaves the mixer disc (17) and is collected in one of the containers (8, 9, 10) for the various sample types. ……