Abstract: A connector is provided for selectively coupling one or more lines or wires (19?, 19?) to a receiving and/or transporting device (27). The connector comprises at least one line or wire receiving ferrule (7) having a plurality of line and/or wire receiving holes (17?-17?) each capable of receiving one of said one or more lines or wires (19?, 19?), wherein said connector further comprises a body (3) for receiving said ferrule (7) and clamping means (9, 11) for exerting a force on said ferrule (7) in order to simultaneously exert a line or wire clamping force on all said line and/or wire receiving holes (17?-17?). In this way all the fluid lines or wires can be clamped at the same time.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for adjusting focus in an automated microscope. The method may comprise the steps of: providing an optical detector for image acquisition, wherein the optical detector comprises an array of sensor pixels; designating a region of interest in the array of sensor pixels to emulate a confocal aperture; directing a light beam to illuminate an object according to a predefined pattern, thereby forming an image of the illuminated pattern at the optical detector, wherein the image of the illuminated pattern substantially overlaps the designated region of interest; detecting a light intensity from sensor pixels located within the designated region of interest; and adjusting a relative focal position of an objective lens based on the detected light intensity.