ASSAY TESTING DIAGNOSTIC ANALYZER

1 . A method comprising:

retrieving a first carrier from a loading bay, the retrieving of the first carrier unrestricted by a position of the first carrier in the loading bay;

exposing the first carrier to an identification device to identify content of the first carrier;

moving the first carrier from the identification device to a first location or a second location based on the content of the first carrier for performance of a diagnostic process using the content at the first location or the second location;

retrieving the first carrier from the first location or the second location; and

returning the first carrier to the loading bay.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further including detecting a presence of the first carrier in the loading bay prior to the retrieving.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further including selectively retrieving a second carrier from a position in the loading bay different from the position of the first carrier in the loading bay.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first carrier is to be disposed at the first location and further including:

exposing the second carrier to the identification device; and

moving the second carrier from the identification device to the second location while the first carrier is disposed at the first location.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first location includes a carrier positioner having an opening to receive the first carrier and further including verifying an alignment between the opening and the first carrier.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further including detecting a presence of the first carrier on the carrier positioner and retrieving the first carrier from the carrier positioner is based on detection.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein moving the first carrier from the identification device to the first location or the second location includes rotatably moving the carrier between the identification device and the first location or the second location.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein returning the first carrier to the loading bay includes disposing the first carrier at the position in the loading bay from which the first carrier was retrieved.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further including moving the first carrier from the loading bay directly to the first location or the second location after the returning of the first carrier to the loading bay for reprocessing of the content of the first carrier.

10 . A method comprising:

receiving, via a processor, an instruction to retrieve a carrier disposed in a loading rack;

retrieving the carrier from one of a first loading bay of the loading rack or a second loading bay of the loading rack based on the instruction, the carrier to be retrieved from any carrier receiver in the first loading bay or the second loading bay;

transporting the carrier from the loading rack to a diagnostic module for processing content disposed in the carrier; and

returning the carrier to the loading rack.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the retrieving of the carrier is based on a priority status of the content disposed in the carrier.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the carrier is a first carrier disposed in the first loading bay and the content disposed in the first carrier has a first priority status and further including retrieving a second carrier including content having a second priority status different from the first priority status, the second carrier disposed in the second loading bay.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the retrieving of the first carrier from the first loading bay occurs at a first time and the retrieving of the second carrier from the second loading bay occurs at a second time occurring after the first time.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the carrier is a first carrier disposed and the content is first content and further including retrieving a second carrier including second content different from the first content, each of the first carrier and the second carrier to be disposed in one of the first loading bay or the second loading bay.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the transporting includes one or more of lifting or rotating the carrier between the loading rack and the diagnostic module.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the diagnostic module includes a carrier support, and further including moving the carrier between a first position on the carrier support and a second position on the carrier support.

17 . A method comprising:

detecting a carrier disposed in a slot of a loading platform of a diagnostic analyzer;

removing the carrier from the slot, the removing of the carrier to be unrestricted by a position of the slot relative to the loading platform;

delivering the carrier to a carrier support for processing of a sample disposed in the carrier;

moving the carrier from the carrier support to the loading platform after processing of the sample; and

disposing the carrier in the slot from which the carrier was removed.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the slot is defined in a tray, the tray to be disposed on the loading platform, and wherein detecting the carrier includes scanning the tray to determine a presence of the carrier.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the slot is a first slot, the carrier is a first carrier, and the carrier support includes a first location and a second location, the first carrier to be delivered to the first location and further including:

removing a second carrier from a second slot of the loading platform; and

delivering the second carrier to the second location of the carrier support, each of the first carrier and the second carrier to be disposed on the carrier support.

20 . The method of claim 17 , further including:

delivering the carrier to a sample identification device for identifying the sample prior to delivering the carrier to the carrier support; and

after the carrier has been returned to the slot, removing the carrier from the slot and delivering the carrier directly to the carrier support for re-processing of the sample.