183 results about "Laboratory automation" patented technology

The invention discloses a laboratory automatic process management and multi-source data fusion system based on the Internet of Things, and belongs to the technical field of laboratory management. The system comprises a sensing layer, an analysis layer, an intelligent management layer and an application layer. The sensing layer carries out global data acquisition and real-time analysis; the analysis layer integrates data, mines an association relationship and optimizes task matching; the intelligent management layer performs full-process automatic management and control on a laboratory, and comprises an equipment cooperation module, a dynamic detection module, a dynamic configuration module, a real-time simulation module, a preset trigger module and an intelligent auditing module; and the application layer performs multi-terminal collaborative interaction and intelligent assistant assistance processing. According to the system, intelligent collaboration of laboratory equipment, automatic detection of samples, dynamic optimization of equipment parameters and automatic early warning and processing of abnormal conditions are realized through technical means such as knowledge graph construction, a digital twinborn technology and multi-mode biological recognition, and the laboratory management efficiency and the data processing accuracy are effectively improved.

The invention discloses a flexible composite robot system for laboratory automation. The flexible composite robot system comprises a flexible composite robot and a central scheduling and control system, the flexible composite robot comprises an autonomous mobile platform which carries a multi-mode navigation sensor and realizes path planning and obstacle avoidance in a laboratory environment by adopting a synchronous positioning and mapping algorithm; the high-precision cooperative mechanical arm is mounted on the autonomous mobile platform and is integrated with a joint torque sensor; the end effector quick replacement system provides mechanical, electrical and pneumatic standardized interfaces; the central scheduling and control system comprises an intelligent man-machine interaction system for realizing man-machine interaction; the experiment process analyzer is used for decomposing the digital experiment scheme into an executable task sequence; the multi-agent task planning and scheduling engine is used for distributing tasks and planning a moving path; and the anomaly detection and autonomous recovery module is used for detecting an abnormal condition based on machine vision and force sensing data and triggering a recovery strategy.

The invention relates to the technical field of task management, and discloses a laboratory automatic data processing and management method, system, equipment and medium, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining the equipment information and resource information of a laboratory; and establishing an equipment simulation model of the laboratory. A task instruction is collected, and the task instruction is disassembled into atomic tasks. And arranging the execution sequence of the atomic tasks according to the inherent sequence constraint of the task instruction, the maximum resource utilization rate, the minimum scheduling frequency and the comprehensive analysis result of the optimal working time of the equipment. And performing task execution by using the execution sequence of the atomic tasks. Idle and faults of equipment are effectively avoided, resource waste is reduced, and automation and accuracy of experimental operation are improved. Besides, by analyzing the working time of the equipment and the validity period of the consumables, the energy consumption and the operation cost can be reduced while the smooth proceeding of the experiment is ensured, and the automatic management level of the laboratory is further improved.

The invention belongs to the field of laboratory automation equipment, and discloses a control method and system of a task execution device for physical and chemical experiment operation, and the method comprises the steps: initializing and calibrating the device; receiving and analyzing an experiment task instruction; collecting object information through a visual sensor; the upper computer generates an execution scheme according to the strategy library; the electric control rotary clamping jaw is driven to complete operation; force and displacement parameters are monitored in real time, and dynamic adjustment actions are fed back through a closed loop; and judging that the operation is completed according to the threshold. The system comprises a visual sensor, a rotary driving body, an electric control rotary clamping jaw and an upper computer. By integrating visual identification and force sense feedback, fine operations such as clamping, taking and placing, bottle cap screwing and the like can be completed in a self-adaptive mode, the efficiency, precision and reliability of laboratory automatic operation are remarkably improved, manual operation errors are reduced, and good application prospects are achieved.

A laboratory sample distribution system is provided comprising: a number of container carriers, wherein the container carriers each comprise a magnetically active device and are adapted to carry a sample container; at least one fan being adapted to cause an airflow; and a number of transport modules, the transport modules being arrangeable adjacent to one another and respectively comprising: a transport surface being adapted to carry the container carriers; a number of heat dissipating electromagnetic actuators being stationary arranged below the transport surface, the electromagnetic actuators being adapted to move container carriers placed on top of the transport surface by applying magnetic forces to the container carriers; and an air guiding element being adapted to guide the airflow first towards an underside of the transport surface and afterwards towards the electromagnetic actuators.

The invention discloses a sample self-relay method for laboratory real-time quality control and an automatic system, and belongs to the technical field of clinical laboratory automatic quality control. According to the method, an independent quality control cycle is established for a plurality of preset key concentrations, and a concentration-bias and concentration-inaccuracy mapping table is established based on historical quality control data. Independent counting is maintained for each target concentration, when the detection number reaches the length L of the current analysis batch, quality control is automatically triggered, two patient samples with the concentrations meeting the requirements are screened from the current detection batch to serve as a self-relay quality control sample pair, and judgment is conducted according to the rule of 1-3 s after returning and re-detection. And meanwhile, querying a mapping table according to the actual concentration of the sample to calculate a sigma value, querying a preset sigma-L mapping table based on the sigma value, and dynamically updating the next analysis batch length of the target concentration. Each cycle operates independently and asynchronously to form a closed loop, so that accurate, automatic and real-time quality control of different concentrations and different frequencies is realized, and the implementation bottleneck of personalized 6 sigma quality control in cost and reliability is overcome.

The invention provides a laboratory digital management method and system, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of laboratory automation and spectral analysis. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a multi-wavelength spectral image sequence in an experimental reaction container in a non-contact manner, associating the multi-wavelength spectral image sequence with a final performance index, and performing differential enhancement to generate a spectral change feature map; performing differential amplification on the spectral electric signal to suppress noise and enhance an effective signal, dividing a region of interest according to a container structure, calculating average spectral intensity, and generating a spectral response curve; the method comprises the following steps: extracting first-order and second-order derivative curves, identifying an intensity change inflection point and a slope abrupt change interval, screening out a key optical change mode in combination with a final performance index, finally establishing a mapping relation between the key optical change mode and the performance index, and constructing a digital model for monitoring a reaction state and predicting final performance. The reaction process can be monitored and the experiment result can be predicted through the spectrum change characteristics, so that the intelligence and accuracy of laboratory management are improved.

The invention relates to virtual pipetting. The method for generating the control program of the laboratory automation equipment comprises the steps that configuration data of the laboratory automation equipment are received, and the configuration data encode the positions of components in the laboratory automation equipment; generating a three-dimensional model of the assembly of the laboratory automation equipment according to the configuration data, wherein the three-dimensional model further comprises a virtual pipette; displaying the three-dimensional model by using a virtual reality headset; receiving movement data of a motion sensing controller controlled by a user wearing the virtual reality headset, the movement data indicating three-dimensional movement of the motion sensing controller in space; determining movement of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model according to the movement data and updating the three-dimensional model according to the movement; a control program for the laboratory automation device is generated on the basis of the movement data, and the control program moves a pipette-bearing pipette arm of the laboratory automation device relative to the assembly on the basis of the movement of the virtual pipette in the three-dimensional model.

The invention belongs to the technical field of laboratory automation, and particularly relates to a laboratory automation system based on an artificial intelligence technology. The system comprises an intelligent man-machine interaction module which is used for interacting with a user and obtaining input information; the intelligent analysis module is used for processing the obtained input information, converting the information into a standardized machine instruction and providing an optimization suggestion for a user experiment scheme through a knowledge base; the information sensing module is used for sensing the space positioning of the biological experiment instrument in the operation space so that the mechanical arm can conduct grabbing movement and experiment operation; and the experiment execution module is used for automatically completing an experiment process through a mechanical arm. The invention has the characteristics of high flexibility and low operation threshold.

The disclosure refers to a method of operating a laboratory sample distribution system having: a plurality of carriers (4) having a number of n (n>3) carriers (4) each configured to carry one or more sample containers containing a sample to be analyzed by laboratory devices (3); a transport plane (1) configured to support to the plurality of carriers (4), wherein the transport plane (1) comprises a plurality of interconnected transport modules comprising a plurality of plane fields (5); and a driving device (13) configured to control movement of the plurality of carriers (4) along individual routes between the plurality of plane fields (5). The method comprises: moving the plurality of carriers (4) along the individual routes on the transport plane (1), wherein the moving, for each carrier, comprises executing at least once steps of reserving a route segment along the individual route, the route segment being provided by one or more plane fields of the plurality of plane fields (5), and moving the carrier (4) along the route segment; and preventing, for the plurality of carriers (4), a deadlock arrangement on the transport plane in which the plurality of carriers (4) block each other from further movement along the individual routes (6). The preventing is further comprising: determining, at a present operation time, a potential deadlock arrangement for the plurality of carriers (4) on the transport plane (1) at a future operation time, wherein the potential deadlock arrangement is assigned a number of n deadlock plane fields occupied by the plurality of carriers (4) in case of the potential deadlock arrangement; for a first carrier from the plurality of carriers (4) moving along a first individual route, reserving a first route segment ending with a first end plane field; and assigning a non-reserve flag to a next plane field which is next to the first end plane field along the first individual route. Further, a laboratory sample distribution system, and a laboratory automation system are provided.

The invention belongs to the technical field of laboratory automation equipment, and discloses an EP tube automatic cover opening and closing device which comprises a shell. A through groove is formed in at least one side wall of the shell; the pipe frame carrier is arranged on the outer side of the shell and corresponds to the through groove in position; the pipe frame carrier is provided with a pipe groove used for containing an EP pipe. The transmission structure is arranged in the shell; and the opening and closing cover pressing plate is connected with the transmission structure, the transmission structure drives the opening and closing cover pressing plate to swing relative to the connecting position, external force is applied to a cover body of the EP pipe placed in the pipe groove of the pipe frame carrier in the swinging process, and cover opening or closing operation is achieved. The two actions of cover pressing and cover lifting can be completed only through positive and negative rotation of the motor, and cover opening and closing are integrated.

The invention discloses an instrument action assembly pressing plate locking device applicable to automation, which belongs to the technical field of laboratory automation instruments and comprises an adapter module, a spinning cover plate, a clamping mechanism and a driving mechanism. The adapter module is mounted on equipment, and a plurality of fixing slots are formed in the adapter module and are used for placing sample tubes; the clamping mechanism is arranged at the output end of the driving mechanism and is in butt joint with a clamping jaw grabbing frame on the spinning cover plate through a fingertip structure at the tail end of the clamping mechanism, so that the spinning cover plate is connected and grabbed; the driving mechanism is used for driving the clamping mechanism to move to the position above the spinning cover plate, clamping the spinning cover plate and the clamping mechanism, driving the spinning cover plate to the position above the sample tube, pressing the spinning cover plate downwards to be in butt joint with the adapter module, pressing the sample tube and rotating the sample tube. Original manual operation is converted into linear downward pressing and 90-degree rotation actions, the complexity and control requirements for an automatic execution mechanism are greatly reduced, and the device has the advantages of being high in automation degree, high in universality and adaptability, low in cost and short in transformation period.

A method of assigning an additional test to an existing aliquot sample tube or to a primary sample tube in a laboratory automation system is presented. The laboratory automation system comprises a workflow control unit and analytical laboratory devices in communication with the workflow control unit. The method comprises receiving an additional test request for the existing aliquot sample tube after processing of the existing aliquot sample tube has started, determining if the existing aliquot sample tube is at a retrievable target, waiting until the existing aliquot sample tube reaches a retrievable target if not at a retrievable target, determining if an aliquot timeout has occurred once the existing aliquot sample tube is at a retrievable target, reassigning the addition test to the primary sample tube if an aliquot timeout has occurred, and performing the additional test from the existing aliquot sample tube if no aliquot timeout has occurred.

The invention relates to a mobile phone enterprise micro H5 page Bluetooth balance data acquisition interconnection method, device and equipment, and relates to the technical field of laboratory automation and informatization management, and the method comprises the following steps: interconnecting an enterprise micro internal application integrated data acquisition interconnection system with an LIMS system; after a user logs in, a weighing task is displayed on an enterprise micro internal application interface, a target weighing task is selected according to user operation, and a target Bluetooth balance is selected according to the target weighing task. And when a user initiates a Bluetooth matching operation, calling a low-power-consumption Bluetooth interface of the equipment to perform Bluetooth matching with the target Bluetooth balance. A target Bluetooth balance is continuously monitored until stable target weighing data is acquired, and the target weighing data is combined with instrument use records to be updated to acquisition information corresponding to a target weighing task of an LIMS system. According to the method and the system, an acquisition system is established by utilizing an enterprise and micro internal application, and visual development is carried out, so that a user can quickly and efficiently acquire weighing data and update the weighing data to an LIMS system.

The invention discloses a liquid distribution device, and belongs to the technical field of laboratory automation equipment, the liquid distribution device comprises a treatment station, the treatment station is provided with a horizontal moving arm, a liquid distribution placing rack and a waste liquid placing rack, the tail end of the horizontal moving arm is provided with a liquid injection needle head, and the liquid distribution placing rack and the waste liquid placing rack are both located below the liquid injection needle head; a liquid level sensor is arranged on the liquid injection needle head and used for monitoring whether internal liquid continuously passes through the liquid injection needle head or not during single-time liquid injection, the liquid separation containing frame is used for containing a liquid separation container, the waste liquid containing frame is used for containing a waste liquid container, and the horizontal moving arm moves horizontally according to the monitoring result of the liquid level sensor. And the liquid injection needle is driven to inject liquid into the liquid separation container or the waste liquid container. An air column can be exhausted into a waste liquid container before liquid separation, in the liquid separation process, whether liquid injection is interrupted and loss is stopped in time or liquid supplementation is conducted after liquid injection continues can be determined according to a liquid level sensor, the problem of liquid shortage caused by the air column can be solved from the initial stage and the liquid separation stage, and dual guarantee is achieved.

A method for designing an automation system having a plurality of nodes in an IVD environment is provided. The method can include receiving system requirements, receiving node requirements, receiving node information for at least one of the nodes, and determining a number of modules that together can achieve the node requirements based on the node information for the at least one of the nodes. At least one of the node requirements is based at least in part on one of the system requirements.

The invention relates to a material handling unit for a mobile industrial robot (1) for the automation of laboratories in the field of laboratory medicine, and to a laboratory installation comprising the mobile industrial robot (1) and the material handling unit mounted on the industrial robot (1). The material handling unit includes a carrier (2) mountable on the industrial robot (1) and one or more sample handling units (3), each containing a sample holder (6) for receiving laboratory sample containers and a sample holder grip (5) for secure fixation. In combination with the mobile industrial robot (1), the material handling unit enables optimized sample logistics through the rapid provision and transport of laboratory samples, reduction of the travel distances of the industrial robot (1), and increased process efficiency.

The invention belongs to the technical field of biological laboratory automation equipment, discloses a control method and system for automatic subpackaging of a culture medium, realizes a high-precision and automatic liquid subpackaging process by combining volume calibration and point position calibration with an end effector, solves the problems of large manual liquid adding amount, complex volume calibration, liquid leakage and the like in a laboratory, and improves the working efficiency. Workload can be effectively reduced, efficiency and quality of laboratory culture medium equipment are improved, and the device is widely applied to laboratories of daily chemicals, medicines, food, health care products, environments and the like.

A laboratory sample distribution system includes carriers that carry sample containers containing a sample to be analyzed by laboratory devices; a transport plane assigned to the laboratory devices and providing support to the carriers; and a driving device configured to move the carriers between positions on the transport plane. Prior to moving the carriers, off-line routes on the transport plane are pre-determined by determining a model representing the transport plane with plane locations and location-to-location movements between plane locations associated to the carriers, using the model to calculate an optimized set of off-line routes between pairs of plane locations by solving an optimization problem in which routes between the pairs are simultaneously optimized, and providing the optimized set of off-line routes as off-line routes on the transport plane. The driving device is controlled such that the carriers are moved along the pre-determined off-line routes on the transport plane.

The invention belongs to the technical field of temperature and humidity control, and particularly relates to a laboratory automatic control system based on an AI model. Aiming at the problems of difficulty in independent regulation and control of temperature and humidity, neglect of influence of personnel activity and the like in the traditional laboratory environment control technology, the system integrates a multi-mode environment perception module, a personnel behavior modeling module, an intelligent decision and control module and an anti-mistaken touch verification module. The multi-modal environment sensing module is provided with various sensors to collect data, and a three-dimensional environment thermodynamic diagram is constructed to monitor temperature and humidity in real time. The personnel behavior modeling module identifies personnel positions and activity intensities and quantifies the influence of the personnel positions and the activity intensities on temperature and humidity; the intelligent decision-making and control module optimizes regulation and control according to a manned-unmanned mode switching strategy; the mistaken touch prevention verification module recognizes the operation intention through LSTM, and mistaken operation is prevented. Accurate regulation and control of laboratory temperature and humidity are realized, the quality and safety of an experimental environment are improved, and the accuracy of an experimental result and the stability of equipment are guaranteed.

The invention relates to Sample handling system (600) for a laboratory automation system (10) comprising an operating table (610) having a plurality of regions, at least one sample tube rack (50) for holding at least one sample tube for a sample detection, at least one sample handling device (620) that is configured to pretreat the at least one sample, and at least one robot arm (110) that is configured to transfer the at least one sample tube or the at least one sample tube rack between the plurality of regions and / or between one of the plurality of regions of the operating table (610) and a sample processing and / or analyzing system (500) arranged outside the operating table. Each of the at least one robot arm (650), the at least one sample tube rack and the at least one sample handling device (620) is arranged in one or more of the plurality of regions.

An automatic standing device for blood collection tubes comprises a rack, a feeding unit, a code scanning unit and a conveying unit, the feeding unit, the code scanning unit and the conveying unit are installed on the rack, the feeding unit conducts discretized feeding on the blood collection tubes, the code scanning unit is used for obtaining information of the blood collection tubes, and the automatic standing device for the blood collection tubes further comprises an allocating unit and a standing cache unit; the conveying unit conveys the blood collection tubes to the allocating unit, the allocating unit shifts the blood collection tubes needing to be stood into the standing cache unit according to code scanning information, the standing cache unit comprises a cache bin, and the cache bin comprises a cache distribution box and at least two sequential cache bins arranged at equal arc intervals. Each temporary storage bin is defined by a temporary storage distribution box, blades and a visual door and window, all the blades are installed on a blade installation shaft, and the blade installation shaft is connected with a blade driving assembly used for driving the blades to rotate. On the premise that manual intervention is not needed, transmission stress is effectively relieved, the hemolysis rate is remarkably reduced, and meanwhile the continuity and high efficiency of an automatic process of a laboratory are guaranteed.

The invention discloses a medical laboratory automation system based on OPC. The medical laboratory automation system comprises an upper computer control layer, a business logic layer, a communication layer, an execution layer and a database layer. The upper computer control layer adopts WinCC configuration software to realize experiment monitoring and visualization; the business logic layer is responsible for task scheduling management based on a Java application program; the communication layer realizes real-time data interaction among the layers through an OPC protocol; the execution layer comprises a PLC control module, an AGV transportation unit and a collaborative robot unit, and completes experiment operation in a collaborative manner. And the database layer stores the whole-process data. According to the system, by establishing an OPC UA real-time communication link between Java and WinCC, instruction and state feedback delay is remarkably reduced, and data synchronization reliability is ensured; an intelligent scheduling algorithm and a fault-tolerant control mechanism are combined to realize efficient execution of tasks and dynamic allocation of resources; by constructing a complete processing closed loop, the automation and intelligence level of a medicine laboratory is effectively improved, manual intervention is greatly reduced, and the experiment efficiency and the result reliability are improved.

The utility model relates to the technical field of medical laboratory equipment, and discloses a medical laboratory automatic assembly line and a sample support rail transfer device, the sample support rail transfer device comprises a reversing disc rotatably arranged between a sample injection rail and a cache rail and a reversing power assembly used for driving the reversing disc to rotate; the reversing disc is fan-shaped, and one end of the reversing disc is provided with a reversing groove which is matched with the sample support to drive the sample support to rotate; when the reversing disc is located at the working position, one end of the reversing disc is matched with the partition plate to separate the sample injection track from the cache track; when the reversing disc is located at the pre-track-changing position, the reversing disc cuts off the sample injection track, and the direction of the reversing groove is opposite to the sample injection direction of the sample injection track, so that the sample support enters the reversing groove along the sample injection direction; when the reversing disc is located at the track transfer position, the reversing groove is aligned with the cache track, the orientation of the reversing groove is the same as the cache direction of the cache track, so that the sample support is separated from the reversing groove, the structure is simple, the cost is low, the track transfer action is simple, and the track transfer efficiency is high.

The present disclosure relates to a method of operating a laboratory sample distribution system, the laboratory sample distribution system comprising a plurality of carriers (4) configured to transport one or more sample containers containing samples to be analyzed by a laboratory apparatus (3), a transfer plane (1) assigned to the laboratory apparatus (3) and supporting the plurality of carriers (4), and a drive device (13) configured to move the plurality of carriers (4) between planar positions (5) provided on the transfer plane (1) in response to drive control signals. The method comprises, before moving the carriers (4) on the transfer plane (1), pre-determining, by one or more processors of a data processing device, an offline route (6) on the transfer plane (1), determining a model representing the transfer plane (1) with planar locations (5') and the movement between locations between the planar locations (5') associated with the plurality of carriers (4), calculating, using the model, an optimized set of offline routes between pairs of planar locations from the plurality of planar locations (5'), the calculating comprising solving an optimization problem in which the routes between pairs of planar locations are optimized simultaneously, providing the optimized set of offline routes as the offline route (6) on the transfer plane (1), and controlling the drive device (13) such that the carriers (4) are moved along the pre-determined offline route (6) on the transfer plane (1). Further, a laboratory sample distribution system and a laboratory automation system are provided.

The application discloses a phosphate dispensing device structure and belongs to the field of laboratory automation equipment. The dispensing device structure comprises a liquid storage tank, a dispensing pump controlled by a PLC controller device and communicated with the liquid storage tank, a dispensing pipeline fixedly installed on an output port of the dispensing pump, a dispensing head fixedly installed on the dispensing pipeline and away from the dispensing pump, and a heat preservation mechanism arranged on the liquid storage tank and the dispensing pipeline. The heat preservation mechanism comprises a first heating part arranged on an outer side wall of the liquid storage tank and attached to the outer side wall of the liquid storage tank. The heat preservation mechanism further comprises a second heating part arranged on an outer side wall of the dispensing pipeline and wrapped on the dispensing pipeline. The dispensing device structure heats and preserves the liquid in the liquid storage tank and the dispensing pipeline, so that the solution is always in a suitable dissolving state, the low-temperature crystallization phenomenon is avoided, and the clogging probability of the dispensing head is effectively reduced.

A laboratory automation robot includes a base, a tower rotatably connected to the base, a robotic arm translatable relative to the tower, a forearm rotatably connected to the robotic arm, and a wrist assembly rotatably connected to the forearm by a wrist joint. The wrist assembly includes an end effector with a first magnet, a cap with a second magnet, a jaw pivotably coupled to the end effector, a linear actuator carried by the jaw, and a sensor carried by the jaw. A linear actuator adjusts the position of the jaw relative to the end effector. A linear actuator is coupled with the cap. A sensor detects an orientation of the jaw relative to the end effector. When the first magnet and the second magnet are decoupled, the sensor detects that the orientation of the jaw relative to the end effector exceeds a predetermined operating range and immediately terminates operation of the linear actuator.

Laboratory automation systems and instruments are disclosed herein comprising components that may facilitate de-contamination of the instrument using an airborne disinfectant. Maintaining the airborne disinfectant within a predetermined range can be achieved by creating a feedback loop between generating the airborne disinfectant from a disinfectant solution. Instruments disclosed can comprise vaporization modules in communication with reservoirs of a disinfectant solution, or receive cleaning cartridges comprising the disinfectant solution, which may be energized to generate the airborne disinfectant. Decontamination methods are also disclosed herein.

The invention discloses a full-automatic solid-liquid separation and purification experimental platform and a control method thereof, and relates to the technical field of laboratory automation equipment. Comprising an experiment platform, a six-axis mechanical arm is arranged on the surface of the top of the experiment platform, a sample injection station is arranged on the right side of the six-axis mechanical arm and arranged on the surface of the experiment platform, and a centrifugal work station is arranged in front of the sample injection station; an ultrasonic mixing workstation, a cover opening workstation and a liquid level height identification workstation are respectively arranged on the left side close to the centrifugal workstation, and are all arranged on the surface of the experimental platform. Through time sequence cooperation (such as continuous operation of grabbing, uncovering, centrifuging and pipetting) of modules such as a mechanical arm, a centrifugal machine and a pipetting platform, traditional manual step-by-step operation is replaced, flow interruption caused by manual intervention is reduced, and the experiment treatment capacity is remarkably improved.

A method for detecting a leak rate of a displacement pump (2,15) integrated in a laboratory automation apparatus (1) comprising a valve (4,10), the displacement pump and a pressure sensor (3); a) closing the valve (4,10); b) pressurizing the system (21) with a liquid to an initial pressure P1 using the displacement pump (2,15); c) monitoring the pressure by the pressure sensor (3) during time period Δt starting from initial pressure P1 at time t1; d) detecting a second pressure P2 at t2 at the end of the time period Δt, wherein pressure P2 is below pressure P1 when leakage occurs; e) repressurizing the system to pressure P1 by displacing an additional volume ΔV of the liquid using the displacement pump (2,15), and f) calculating the leak rate by dividing the additional volume ΔV by the predetermined time period Δt.