Abstract: An automated rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) system for smearing, staining and capturing a digital image of a biological sample such as a fine needle aspiration (FNA) sample is presented. The system comprises a housing with a user interface monitor or screen, a smearing system, a staining system, and an image capture system. The housing can further include a receiver for a biological sample that can direct the sample to a sample slide. The smearing system is configured to smear the sample on the sample slide. The staining system is configured to stain the sample. The image capture system is configured to capture a magnified image of the sample and store the digital image in the housing or remotely. The digital images may be available immediately for local or off-site review. The wait time between staining the sample and image capture can be less than 60 seconds.