The plate handler from IUL instruments, supported and distributed by QM Solutions, is designed to automate colony counting by being used in conjunction with the Flash and Go
The petri plates are stacked in a carousel that contains up to 80 plates (four columns of 20).
The carousel is taken from the incubator and installed in the unit.
The petri dishes have a bar code label that is scanned, allowing them to be identified.
If bar codes are not used the position of the plate in the column and the column itself are used as identification.
To read bar codes the dish is spun in front of a reader, stopping the rotation when it has successfully retrieved the information from the label.
This information is used for identification purposes, but can also be used to give orders to the Flash and Go, what settings to use when counting etc.
This allows different types of samples to be loaded and processed successfully.
Any model of 90mm petri dish can be used, it takes 20 minutes to complete a full carousel.
